


Running Home To You

by west_allenOTP1



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-08-03 20:52:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 27,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16333259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/west_allenOTP1/pseuds/west_allenOTP1
Summary: Iris moved from Central City to pursue her career in journalism in Keystone City. She was the #1 journalist in Keystone and was accomplishing her goals until one night changed everything. She packed up everything and went back to Central City to stay with her dad Joe West. Iris thought that she could escape what she left behind but will her past be able to catch up with her?





	1. Moving Forward

_Just keep moving Iris, we're almost there,_ Iris thought to herself as she shoved her way through the crowd of the people and rushed toward the last bus that was boarding for that night. Iris went up the steps of the bus and handed her ticket to the driver then made her way to her seat. Iris sat down and looked around the bus self-consciously. She sat back in her seat and sighed. She pulled the baseball cap down tighter around her head and turned to look out the window as the bus lurched forward to get on the road. 

_Glass was shattered all over the floor and Iris was breathing heavily as she ran frantically through the house. She heard objects clattering to the floor in the kitchen but she kept moving. She leapt over the shattered glass and made it to the bedroom. Iris slammed the door and locked it. She started shaking but she knew that she had to be strong enough to get her stuff and leave. Iris went into the closet and grabbed bags and filled them with clothes and shoes. She raced over to her jewelry box and grabbed all the cash that she was saving up and threw it in_ _one of the bags._

_Another crash came from the kitchen and she knew that she needed to hurry. Iris hurriedly grabbed the bags and slowly unlocked the door and opened it a little, just enough to peek her head out. She looked toward the kitchen and after a second or two, she opened it wider and quickly moved toward the front door of the house. Iris ran down the street but not before hearing him yell her name, "Iris!"_

Iris quickly wiped away the tears that she wasn't aware were falling before someone could notice. The bus driver came over the intercom and said, "Thank you all for choosing Keystone City's Bus Station for your transportation needs. Now buckle in and get comfortable, our next stop will be Central City."

~~~~~~~~

After what seems likes forever, the bus finally arrives in Central City in the morning. Iris walked off the bus with her bags and made her way to the front entrance. She pulled her coat tighter around her as the cold breeze hit her and looked around until her eyes landed on the person she was looking for. Her face broke out into a wide grin and she made her way toward the man standing there with his arms opened. Iris stepped into the embrace and the man hugged her tight, "Ohh, babygirl, I've missed you so much"', the man says in her hair.

Iris laughed to keep from crying because she's pretty sure that she doesnt have many tears left after the insane 24 hours she's had. "I've missed you too, dad." 

Iris hasn't seen her dad, Joe West, as much since she decided to move to Keystone. After college, Iris packed up everything and went off to chase her dreams at the local newspaper that offered her an internship. Joe didn't want Iris to move away but he wasn't going to stand in the way of her wanting to pursue her dreams of becoming a journalist. Iris always came back home for the holidays and surprise visits on the weekends but those slowly came to a stop after she became more busy at the paper.

"How long do I have you for?", her dad asked and went to grab her bags and put them in the truck of the car.

Truthfully, Iris didn't know how long she was going to stay in Central City but she did know that she couldn't go back to Keystone. "I'm not sure yet. I just thought I would use my vacation days at the paper to come home and visit my old man." Iris said, while lightly punching Joe in the shoulder.

Joe didn't look convinced but chose not to press on the subject. He went to open the door for Iris and then went to get into the car himself. They caught up as much as they could on the drive home. Iris knew that she should probably tell her dad the real reason she came home but she wasn't strong enough to tell anyone yet. Joe parked the car and went to get Iris' bags out the car. Iris walked up the small steps to her house and opened the door. She breathed in the familiar scent of lavender and sandalwood and sighed in content. Iris heard footsteps running down the stairs and she was tackled into a hug.

"Geez Wally, don't break me. Let me go so I can get a good look at you." Iris said and Wally let her go. Iris had to admit that she was kind of jealous now that her little brother, Wally, was taller than her now even with her heels on. Wally gave her a spin and she laughed, "I do have to admit little brother, you've gotten taller but these ears have gotten bigger too." Iris yanked on Wally's ears and he smacked her hands away.

"Whatever, just admit that you missed me.", he said while batting his eyelashes at her.

Iris rolled her eyes but a small smile played on her lips, "Something like that." Wally pouted and Iris laughed again and for once in a long time, she was happy. She made her way toward the kitchen and Wally followed her. She grabbed herself a glass of water and took a sip.

"Is this your last year at CCU?", Iris asked after a moment. Wally turned to look at her.

"Yeah it is, I graduate in a couple of months. I've been offered a couple of internships to work in the technological programs and I'm really excited about that", he said.

Iris smiled and slapped him on the shoulder, "Wally thats amazing, I'm so proud of you."

Wally blushed and ducked his head, "Thank you, it really means a lot." He went to speak again but Iris phone rang.

Iris grabbed her phone and looked at the caller iD but it said unknown. Her heart started beating out of chest and she was deciding in her head whether or not she wanted to answer it. She hesitated and then she finally answered the phone. She brought it up to her ear, "Hello?", Iris said slowly. Wally got closer to her to hear who was on the other line. 

"Get your ass to Jitters now!", someone yelled into the phone. Iris was taken back and relieved at the same time.

"Wait, what?", but the person had hung up already and Iris was just standing there staring at her phone in confusion. She looked up at Wally who was just as confused as she was, "Well, that was weird", she said.

"Come on", Wally said, as he went into the living and grabbed his coat. Iris followed him and went to grab her purse and coat but looked up at Wally and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Where are we going?", Iris asks. 

"We're going to Jitters, are you coming?", he says and opens the door. They make their way towards Jitters, laughing loudly and talking along the way until they come to their destination. Wally went in first and Iris followed after, closely behind him. She kept her head down most of the time, not trying to make eye contact with anyone. Wally turned to Iris and said, "I will get the drinks while you go find us some seats. Do you want your usual?"

Iris looked at Wally, "You still remember?", and Wally nodded. Iris smiled brightly, "Yes I do, with a brownie, please."

Wally rolled his eyes before going off and standing in the line. Iris went to go find them some seats as instructed and she found two beside the window. She sat down and looked up when she heard the bells on the door chime indicating that someone entered the coffee shop. A brunette haired lady came in and looked around the coffee shop until her eyes landed on Iris. She started walking towards her and Iris got up from her seat. They both squealed at the same time and hugged each other tightly. They didn't care about all the eyes that were staring at them in the shop and let each other go.

Iris looked at the woman in front of her and tried to keep the tears from falling. This is exactly what Iris needed, the reason why she came home, to see her family again and now standing in front of her, her best friend since elementary school. "Oh my god, Linda, you look amazing." 

Linda waved her off and gestured at her, "Girl me, look at you. You come back to Central City looking hot as hell." Iris laughed and her best friend continued, "I'm just glad you showed up", Linda said as she sat down at the table.

Iris looked at her wide eyed, "That was you?!" Linda nodded like it was nothing. "Linda you scared me, Wally dragged me here thinking it someone trying to kidnap me or something."

Speaking of Wally, he walked up with coffees in hand and Iris' brownie sitting on top. He sat them down on the table and Iris reached for hers. She took a sip as Wally turned to Linda and smiled, "Hey Linda."

Linda returned his smile, "Hi, Wallace." Wally smiled even brighter after hearing Linda call him by his full name. He hates when everyone else does it but when Linda says it, he lights up like a Christmas tree.

"How are you?", he asks and they went into a small conversation. Iris took another sip from her coffee and looked between the pair in front of her with a small smile on her face. Iris always knew that Wally had a thing for Linda even if he didn't want to admit it to anyone or himself. Iris could tell that Linda had a soft spot for Wally but she wasn't going to admit to that either. 

The bell chimed again but this time Iris didn't look up because the brownie staring up at her had her full attention. She licked her lips and reached for a fork but there wasn't one on the plate. Iris frowned and looked up to ask Wally to get her one but she saw that Linda had his full attention. Iris rolled her eyes and got up from her seat to get a fork. She grabbed the fork from the counter and turned around to go back to her seat but bumped into someone on the way. 

"Sorry."

"Sorry", they both said at the same time and Iris looked up and caught eyes with the man that was holding her.  _Wow_ , she thought to herself. He was tall with dark hair and the most beautiful, _BEAUTIFUL_ green eyes that she has ever seen. He had a white tee shirt on with a red jacket on it and dark jeans and white shoes to top it off.  _He's handsome,_ she had to admit to herself. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you.", he said in a raspy voice.

Iris couldn't breathe.  _Okay, never mind, he's sexy,_ she thought in her head and really hope she didn't say out loud. She quickly try to clear her mind and found the right words to say, "Oh no, thats alright, I should probably watch where I'm going next time." Iris said and laughed and the man smiled down at her. Iris guessed that he didn't realize that he still had his arm around her waist so she cleared her throat and looked down.

He blushed and let her go, "I'm sorry about that, I didn't realize that I was still...", he trailed off.

"That must be your favorite word?", Iris asked, and he looked at her confused.

"What?"

"You've told me sorry three times already and I'm starting to wonder if thats the only word you know.", Iris said teasingly while smiling at him. 

He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Sorr- you know what, I'm just going to shut my mouth." he said, and Iris laughed again and he looked at her smiling. It looked like he was about to say something else but Wally walked up and patted the man on the shoulder.

"Hey Barry, I see you've met my sister, Iris." he said, while looking between Barry and Iris.  _The handsome man has a name,_ she thought to herself. 

"Whats up Wally?", Barry said, but he kept sneaking glances at Iris but she thought it was her eyes playing tricks on her.

Iris looked behind Wally and asked, "Where'd Linda go?"

Wally tried to hide his blush but Iris caught it and she's sure that Barry caught it too, "She had to go back to work but she told me to tell you to call her", he said. Iris nodded and Wally turned to Barry and cleared his throat, "Speaking of work, shouldn't you be at a crime scene with my dad?"

Barry nodded his head, "Yeah I just came from there. I just stopped here to grab a cup of coffee before heading back to the precinct." he said.

As he said that, a barista came up and handed him his coffee. Barry muttered a quick thank you before taking a sip. Iris watched him and smiled. Barry looked down at Iris through his long eyelashes and returned it. "So are you a detective?", she asked. 

"Oh no, I'm a CSI, just the guy that analyzes the crime scenes," he said and then took another sip.

"Wait, you're the CSI that my dad is always gushing about?", she asked.

Barry nodded his head, smiling, "Must be, and you must be the famous journalist daughter of his?"

Iris laughed and said, "Must be, but I wouldn't say famous." Barry took a step closer to her and Iris tried her best to not flinch at how close he was. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "I feel bad that you've got to put up with this goofball." They both turned toward Wally who was trying to talk to one of the baristas. Iris laughed and Barry grinned but his phone started ringing. He excused himself and Iris watched him walk away and then turned to Wally who was walking up to her with a stupid grin on his face.

"Did you get her number?", she asked with her arms crossed. 

Wally looked back at the barista, "No, she wasn't my type", he said while shrugging his shoulders.

Iris looked at him for a minute with her arms still crossed and Wally was trying to avoid her gaze. "Why are you staring at me?", he asked. Iris didn't answer and kept staring at him. Wally started squirming and he said, "Stop it."

Barry walked back up and pocketed his phone, "That was work, they want me back at the precinct." Wally turned his attention to Barry, trying to ignore Iris completely.

"Say hey to my dad for me, wait, are you still coming over for dinner tonight?", Wally asked. This caught Iris attention and she was now curious if he was or not.

"I wouldn't miss it, I will see you guys later tonight", Barry said with a grin, his eyes lingering on Iris before turning around and heading out the door, toward the precinct.


	2. Dinner Party

Barry sipped on his coffee as he made his way up the steps to the front doors of Central City Police Department. His thoughts went back to the little moment he had with the brown skinned beauty named Iris West and smiled. Even though he enjoyed talking to her, he felt bad for bumping into her but was glad that he didn't have his cup of coffee in hand at the time.  _She is so beautiful,_ he thought as he walked to the elevators and pushed the button to go up.

The way her hair bounced over her shoulders as she laughed, how she smiled brightly when she looked at him, and how her eyes shined as they stared deeply in his with amusement when he couldn't stop apologizing. Barry oddly felt there was something mysterious about her, like she was keeping something buried down inside. The elevator dinged and Barry cleared his mind as he stepped off the elevator. He saw Joe walking toward his desk with some files in his hand and Barry jogged a little to catch up with him.

"Hey Joe", Barry said with a radiant smile. Joe turned to look at Barry by his side, noticing the smile on his face and gave him a weird look. Barry noticed and asked, "What?"

Joe laughed and said, "I don't know, you just seem a little too giddy after coming from a double homicide crime scene." Joe went to sit in his chair at his desk and turning to look up at Barry after placing the police files on his desk.

Barry shrugged with the smile still on his face and said, "Maybe today is just a good day. Oh, and Wally says hi", he added and Joe nodded. Barry was about to head to his lab upstairs but Joe called out to him and he turned around.

"Captain Singh was looking for you earlier and I told him that you were in your lab working on the forensic reports instead of being at Jitters grabbing a cup of coffee." Joe said with a smile.

Barry groaned a little and went to take another sip of his coffee to find it empty which only made him groan loudly. Joe laughed and shook his head as he watched Barry stomp up the stairs toward his lab.

A few hours pass by and Barry is almost done with the reports but he needed to stretch his legs so he chose to go talk to Joe for a little while. He walked down the stairs and headed towards Joe's desk but saw a beautiful woman sitting on his desk. Barry's heart quickened at the sight of her and he shot her a smile, "Hey Iris, where's Joe?" he said and tried to not look down as her dress which raised a little showing a good bit of thigh. 

"Hi, Barry and I am really not sure. I brought lunch hoping that we could eat together but he doesn't seem to be here", she said as she hopped down off his desk and Barry noticed the Big Belly Burger that was sitting on Joe's desk. His stomach growled at the sight and Iris raised her eyebrows, "I'm guessing you haven't had the chance to eat today?", she asked.

Barry shook his head and said, "I have not. Joe isn't here and I'm pretty sure that you don't want that food to go to waste."

Iris bit her lip and looked at Barry, "How do you know that I want to share my food with you?" she said in a teasing tone.

Barry put a hand over his heart, feigning to be hurt, "Would you really let a young and handsome man like me, starve?" he asked with a toothy grin.

"Well when you put it like that, how could I possibly let that happen?" her voice dripping in sarcasm. Iris laughed as she turned around to grab the food and Barry eyes darted to look at her curves in the fitting dress. He turned away blushing and mentally punched himself. He smiled at her when she turned back around with the food in her hand and she asked, "Where to?"

"We could eat in my lab, if you would like", he said and she nodded in approval. As soon as she nodded, Barry heard the door open to Captain Signh's office and he tried to make a run for it but the captain had already seen him.

"Allen! Do you have those reports done?" Signh asked with his eye brows raised. Barry groaned and Iris stifled a laugh.

"Yes sir, I just need to write out a few more things and it will all be done", Barry said in a tired voice. The captain stared at him for a moment and Barry shifted uncomfortably and avoided eye contact.

"Just have it on my desk before you leave for today, Allen, thank you", he looked between Barry and Iris before walking off to probably go yell at someone else.

Barry let out a breath and turned to Iris who was trying to keep from laughing which caused Barry to smile at her. "What are you laughing at?" he asked.

Iris let out a little laugh and said, "Nothing, nothing, lets go eat." Barry stared at her for a second before turning around and leading her up to his lab but neither one of them were aware of the eyes that were watching them.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, eating and sneaking glances at each other until Barry cleared his throat. He finished the french fry in his mouth before opening his mouth to speak. "So, Joe was telling me that you were this amazing journalist at Keystone's newspaper?"

Iris blushed and wiped her mouth with a napkin while nodding her head, "Yeah I love writing but don't get me wrong, I did try to become a detective but my dad wouldn't let me", she said and rolled her eyes.

Barry smiled at her, "You would have made a good detective", he said.

Iris looked at him and tucked a hair behind her ear, "You're damn right but even though I couldn't go out there and physically fight the bad guys. I could help take them down with my words and their just as powerful as a punch to the face", Barry laughed and Iris continued, "I'm proud of my work and I wouldn't want to change anything. I mean not to toot my own horn but I did take down a big illegal arms dealer."

Barry's eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open, "Wait, that was you?" he asked.

Iris nodded and popped a fry in her mouth and Barry just stared at her amazed.  _What a badass,_ he thought to himself and he smiled at her. "I read that story like a thousand times, it was so well written. I almost felt like I was actually there, in the middle of the action", he said.

Iris blushed and looking up, locking eyes with Barry, "Thank you but enough about me. Did you always want to be a CSI?", she asked.

Barry took a sip from his drink and swallowed before answering, "Actually no. At first, I wanted to be a doctor like my dad, then I wanted to study physics in college, then I finally settled on becoming a scientist. I always knew that I wanted to help people and then I got an interview here. Now I'm a forensic scientist, putting the bad guys away, and also helping the victims. Best of both worlds or something like that."

Iris stared at him and Barry looked down then looked back up at her. She smiled at him and nodded her head not breaking eye contact, "Yeah, something like that."

Barry and Iris sat in his lab talking for hours, laughing and truly enjoying each others company. Iris was doubled over laughing and Barry was watching her, laughing as well. She started waving her hand, "Wait, wait. You walked into your neighbors apartment drunk as hell, thinking it was yours?" Barry nodded and she continued, "and you strip to your boxers and fall on the couch ready to fall asleep until the guy came into the living room yelling?' Barry nodded again, "then you stand up really fast and throw up all over the floor including on him?" she asked, laughing harder.

Barry started laughing too and said, "In my defense, his numbers oddly looked exactly like mine and why was his door unlocked anyways. He was practically begging for someone to come into his apartment and throw up everywhere."

Iris wiped a tear from her eye and Barry watched her, smiling. She sighed and stared at him smiling until it faltered a bit as she stared behind him. "Shit! I was suppose to start dinner an hour ago", she said as she got up and started to clean up.

Barry looked at his watch and saw that it read 6:15 p.m. _Singh is going to murder me,_ he thought to himself. Barry turned to Iris who was cleaning and said, "I will take care of this, you go ahead."

She looked up at him and asked, "You sure?" Barry nodded and Iris smiled at him gratefully. She went to grab her stuff and walked to the door but turned around before leaving, "Thanks for having lunch with me Barry, see you in a few", she said with a bright smile. 

Barry returned her smile and said back, "See you in a few." Iris bit her lip and turned around to leave. Barry's face hurt from smiling so much but he couldn't help it because thats the only thing he did when he was around her. Barry heart skipped a beat at the thought of her and his stomach felt as if it was a fluttery sensation.  _Today has been perfect,_ Barry smiled and his smile only grew bigger when he realized he gets to see her again tonight. "Allen!" Barry's smile dropped when he heard Signh yell his name. Barry sat down at his desk and hurriedly work to finish the reports before Captain Singh came in demanding for them.

At 8:30, Barry is finally knocking on the door of the West house after six different outfit changes. Barry is messing with his hair when Wally opened the door. Barry felt a little deflated when Iris wasn't the one to open the door but he smiled anyways, "Hey Wally."

"Sup man", Wally said and opened the door wider. Wally noticed the bottle in Barry's hand and asked, "What is that?"

Barry shrugged off his coat and hung it up. He turned to Wally and said, "This is white wine for the grown ups." Wally punched him in the shoulder and Barry laughed. They went into the kitchen and Barry is trying to not make it noticeable that he's looking for Iris. He placed the wine on the counter and Joe is checking on the food in the oven. Barry walked over to him and asked, "Do you need help with anything?"

Joe closed the oven and looked at Barry, "Most of everything is already done but you could help Wally set the table", he said and Barry nodded.

Barry and Wally went into dining room and started setting the table. Barry kept glancing up toward the staircase, thinking that he heard Iris coming down but was disappointed each time. Wally noticed this and smiled to himself. Wally chose to tease him and said, "She went to freshen up, she should be down in a minute."

Barry blushed and tried to make it seem like he didn't know what Wally was talking about,"What?"

Wally kept setting the table and said coolly, "You're looking for my sister, right? Thats why you keep looking at the staircase."

Barry was dumbfounded and couldn't really seem to find the right words to say. Luckily he didn't have to because then he heard steps coming down the stairs. Barry looked up to find Iris coming down in an olive green dress that was even more fitted than the one earlier with black boots on her feet. Barry's heart starting beating out of his chest and he felt like the room just got hotter. She tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and she looked up to find Barry staring at her. Barry realized that he was staring, he looked away and she smiled before walking to the kitchen. 

Barry looked back up to find Wally staring at him with his arms crossed and a goofy smile on his face. Barry fake glared at Wally, "What are you smiling at?"

Wally laughed and put his hands up, "Nothing."

Joe and Iris entered the dining room and Joe placed Grandma Esther's infamous noodle dish down on the table. Wally was about to take his fork and dig but then Joe smacked his hand away. "We haven't said grace, Wally", Joe said as he took Barry's hand in his and then Wally's. Iris took Wally's hand and reached her hand out to hold Barry's. Barry took Iris hand in his and electricity coursed through his body at the touch. Barry looked up at Iris but she was already looking at him and they locked eyes. Iris broke the eye contact as soon as Joe started saying grace.

Joe finished grace and they started digging into the noddle dish. Iris stared at her plate most of time and Barry felt like she was trying to avoid his gaze. He couldn't help but wonder if she felt that spark too. Barry finished his second plate of noodles and then Wally burped loudly and everyone looked at him in disgust. Iris shook her head and said, "Some things just never change."

Barry laughed and she turned to look at him. Iris smiled and Barry smiled back at her but he could also tell that the smile didn't reach her eyes. Joe got up, picked up the plates, and turned to Barry, "You got some room for dessert?"

"Only if its that crusted peach cobbler recipe I love so much", Barry said while grinning like a little kid on Christmas morning. Joe laughed and went into the kitchen. A moment later, Joe returned with the peach cobbler and ice cream to place it on top. Barry scooped up a piece of the cobbler and place a big chunk of ice cream on top. He grabbed his spoon, took a bite, and closed his eyes. "Hmm, Joe this is amazing", Barry said.

Joe was getting a scoop of ice cream and said, "Oh I didn't make it this time, Iris did."

Barry eyes shot up to meet Iris' and he smiled at her, "This might be the best I've ever had", Barry said and Iris ducked her head. 

"Thank you Barry", she said with a grin and Wally decided to cut into their moment like a knife and said, "I think its alright, certainly doesn't beat that time when I made it."

Iris scoffed and said, "Yeah, isn't that the same time where you almost burned the house down too?" Barry laughed and Joe just looked at his kids with amusement. They went back and forth for a while until Joe decided to call it a night and told them to clean up. Wally ran up stairs after Joe said that and Iris just shook her head but Barry decided to stay behind to help her clean.

They stood at the sink in silence while Barry washed the dishes and Iris dried them off. Their fingertips would brush against each other occasionally and Barry tried to focus on not dropping the plate each time she touched him. Barry wanted to say something so he chose to do small talk. "Dinner was great but the dessert had to be my favorite", he said while washing off the plate.

Iris looked him at him and smile, "Is that because it was actually good or because I made it?"

Barry pretended like he had to think about and Iris bumped his shoulder with hers. He laughed and looked back at her, saying, "Both."

Barry stared her and Iris stared right back at him until she cleared her throat and grabbed the plate he was washing to dry it off. "When did you start coming to these dinners anyways?", she asked.

Barry thought about it for a minute and handed her another plate. He turned to look at her again then turned away and said, "Me and your dad grew close after Wally went away for college. We would talk from time to time before at work and I have to admit, I admired him, looked up to him even."

Iris looked at him surprised, "Really?" and Barry nodded.

"Don't tell Joe though, our little secret", Iris nodded while drying off another plate and Barry continued, "I studied his reports and saw how passionate and hard working he was. I felt as if I needed to prove myself to him and I did just that. He looks at me with respect and not like the others who look at me as if I'm still a kid who's way too over their head..." he trailed off and saw that she was looking at him attentively. "Anyways after Wally went away to college, Joe asked if I wanted to come over for dinner one night and I agreed. After that we had dinner almost every night and he started to become like a second dad for me", he finished.

Iris stood there staring at him and Barry blushed while rubbing the back of his neck, "Sorry for the rambling, I just wanted to tell you the whole reason wh-" Barry was cut off because Iris lips were pressed up against his in a sweet kiss. Barry could still taste the ice cream and peach cobbler from dessert on her lips and Barry closed his eyes. As soon as he was about to kiss her back, she pulled away.

Iris looked at him wide eyed and apologized, "Sorry, I'm so sorry, I don't know what I was thinking."

Barry tried to calm her down and tell her that it was okay but she had turned away from him. Barry ran his hand through his hair and put his hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry, are you okay?"

Iris started shaking and Barry started to panic.  _Oh shit,_ he thought and went to stand in front of her. "Iris", he started but then he realized that she wasn't crying but laughing, "Wait, are you laughing?", he asked.

Iris looks up laughing and says, "Yes I'm laughing. You don't have to apologize Barry, I shouldn't have kissed you." Barry felt like deflated balloon and he took a step back from her. She noticed and continued, "I mean I did want to kiss you but I shouldn't have.." she trailed off.

Barry was confused but he saw the look on her face and knew that she wasnt ready to go into detail on why. Barry rubbed the back of his neck and walked toward her. He put his hands on her shoulders and regretted what he was about to say next, "Lets just forget it ever happened, okay?"

Iris looked up and locked eyes with him, "Really?" she asked. 

Barry buried his feelings and gave her his best smile, "Really." Iris gave him a hug and he wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her tightly. He closed his eyes while breathing in her scent and thought,  _One day._

Barry helped her finish cleaning up and it was a little awkward at first but then they got back into the swing of their friendly banter. Barry grabbed his coat and Iris gave him one last hug then Barry was on his way toward his apartment. He opened the door to the apartment and Barry walked to the kitchen, throwing his keys on the counter. Snoring came from the living room and Barry saw Cisco lying down with a pepperoni on the side of his face. Barry laughed to himself and walked toward his bedroom. He threw his coat on his chair and threw off all his clothes before jumping into his bed. Barry stared up at the ceiling and then went to touch his lips with a smile on his face.  _Definitely, one day._

 


	3. Coffee, Interviews, and Friendship

Iris sat up in bed and sighed while closing her eyes. She thought back to a couple nights ago when she kissed Barry Allen in the kitchen and thought how perfect his lips felt against hers. Iris groaned loudly because she knew that she shouldn't have kissed him but when they were standing in the kitchen and he was telling her how much her dad meant to him, she couldn't help herself. Those gorgeous green eyes were staring at her and that goofy grin was plastered on his face. Before she knew what she was doing, his face were in her hands and she was bringing his face toward hers.

Iris walked to the bathroom to freshen up but she couldn't help noticing that Barry didn't kiss her back. Thats one of the reason that Iris broke it and the other reason is because she knew deep down that she wasn't ready for a relationship yet. Iris touched her lips and couldn't help but smile.

Iris got dressed and made her way down stairs. She walked to where the coffee pot was but of course it was empty, so she decided to go to Jitters instead of making her own. As she walked to Jitters, she pulled out her phone and sent Linda a quick text.

_Hey, I just wanted to thank you again for getting me an interview at CCPN._

Linda had called Iris yesterday and told her that a journalist position opened up at her job. Iris was speechless and couldn't find the right words to say besides thanking Linda a million times. Linda told her to be there at 10 o clock and Iris looked up at the clock which read 9:15 as she stood in the line at Jitters. Iris phone buzzed and she reached in her pocket to grab it.

**Don't worry about, just come over later with a bottle of wine to celebrate.**

_How do you know if I'm going to get the job?_

**How do you not know? Aren't you the Iris West who was the number one journalist in Keystone?**

_Whatever, says the one who wrote the story busting the MLB player who was taking steroids and won an award for it._

**What can I say, we're a couple of badasses :)**

Iris smiled and pocketed her phone but felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see the one and only Barry Allen. Iris had to admit, after not seeing him for a while, she actually started to miss his nerdiness. Barry smiled down at her and said, "Fancy seeing you here." Iris smiled back at him.

She was scared that it would be awkward between them after their kiss but Barry is acting like nothing happened. "Yeah, my dad and Wally chose to drink all of the coffee this morning," Barry laughed as they moved up a little in the line and Iris took the time to take in his appearance. He had on a denim jacket on with a white tee shirt underneath and fitted khaki pants with white shoes.  _Damn, this is going to be harder than I thought,_ she said in her head.

"Sounds about right," Barry said, breaking Iris' train of thought. They made small talk while they waited in line but then a guy came rushing up to them. The guy didn't seem to notice Iris standing there and stood next to Barry.

The guy turned to Barry and said, "Thanks for holding a spot for me." Barry muttered a no problem and the guy finally turned toward Iris and smiled. "Hello there, I'm Cisco Ramon and whats your name, beautiful?" He asked while sticking out his hand for Iris to shake.

Iris shook it, laughing a little and then Barry cut in to say, "This is Iris West, Detective Joe West's daughter." 

Cisco let go of her hand still smiling and tried to say lowly to Barry, "This is the one you were telling me about?" Iris heard every word and tried to hide the blush that crept up on her face. Barry bumped his shoulder against Cisco's and cleared his throat. Iris looked up and locked eyes with Barry before the barista called out, "I can help the next person in line."

Iris went up and placed her order then Barry and Cisco put in theirs. The three of them went to find seats and Cisco was cracking small jokes which were making Iris laugh and Barry was amused but he seemed slightly annoyed. The barista called out and said their coffees were ready. Barry turned to Cisco and patted him on the shoulder, "Could you go grab the coffees?"

Cisco turned to Barry and the smile on his face dropped a little, "Why me? You're closer."

Barry shot Cisco a look and Cisco groaned but got up anyways to go grab the coffees. Iris chuckled and looked at Barry, "So has there been anything good going on at the precinct lately?"

Barry shrugged his shoulders and said, "If you're definition of good is arresting a man for indecent exposure then yes." Iris raised an eyebrow and laughed. Barry smiled, "What about you? Do you have any plans today?"

Iris smiled and said, "Well I kind of have an interview at 10 at Central City Picture News. My best friend, Linda, told me that a journalist spot opened up and she showed her boss a couple of the stories I wrote which he liked. I've never been this excited and nervous before." 

Barry reached out his hand, taking Iris' hand in his and giving it a little reassuring squeeze, "You're an amazing journalist and when he meets you. He's going to see what a wonderful, talented, and total badass of a person you are. I mean how could he possibly turn you down?" Barry smiled at her genuinely and Iris stomach filled with butterflies with every word Barry said.

"Thanks Barry," and Barry nodded as he rubbed his thumb over the back of Iris' knuckles. Iris looked down at their hands with a smile on her face. Iris looked up to find Barry already staring at her with a small smile on his face. Cisco walked up with the coffees in a tray in one hand and a pastry in the other. Cisco put the drinks on the table and Barry took his hand out of Iris' to grab his cup. Iris tried to ignore the feeling of wanting Barry's hand back in hers as she reached for her coffee.

She took a sip of her coffee and looked at the clock on the wall, 9:35. Cisco was about to dig into his pastry until he stopped suddenly and stared at the front entrance of Jitters. Iris turned around to find a beautiful woman with curly brown hair wearing a navy blue romper and gray boots. Iris turned to Cisco who looked like he'd seen a ghost. 

"Oh shit Barry, Barry thats the girl I was telling you about," Cisco said while grabbing onto Barry's arm. 

Barry looked at the woman and turned back to Cisco, "The uhh doctor, right? Cait?", he asked Cisco.

Cisco didn't turn to look at Barry and just stared at the woman, Iris assumed name was Cait. Iris turned to look at Barry who just shrugged and took a sip of his coffee. "Her name is Dr. Caitlin Snow. She's a doctor and working on becoming a bio engineer too, at STAR Labs, where I work", he said.

The woman, Caitlin, grabbed her cup of coffee and turned around to find a seat. She seemed to recognize Cisco, and waved at him then started to make her way over to them. Cisco started panicking and turned to Barry and Iris, "Shit, guys, she's coming this way. What do I say? What do I do?" Barry and Iris looked at each other helplessly which only made Cisco panic even more. "Hello? Help. Me. Please. Now!" he said exasperatedly.

Barry turned to Cisco and patted him on the back, "Just be yourself", he said and Iris tried to give a helpful smile.

Caitlin then walked up and Cisco turned to look at her, "Hi, Dr. Snow", he said with a smile. 

She returned his smile and said, "Cisco please, I told you to call me Caitlin."

"Yeah, right, I'm sorry, Caitlin." Cisco stared at her and she sipped on her coffee. Iris looked between the two with an amused smile on her face.

Barry cleared his throat and looked at Caitlin, "Hey, I'm Barry Allen, Cisco's best friend and roommate, " he said with a smile and gestured to Iris, "and this is Iris West."

Iris reached out her hand for Caitlin to shake and she did, "Nice to meet you," Iris said.

Caitlin smiled and said, "Yeah you too." 

Iris checked the clock again and it said 9:40. She got up out of seat and grabbed her coat, "I would love to stay and talk but I have a job interview to get to." Caitlin nodded and Cisco was picking little pieces off of his pastry. 

Barry then got up and grabbed his cup of coffee. He turned to Iris asking, "Do you mind if I walk with you? I was supposed to be at the precinct by now." Iris shook her head and tried to keep from laughing when she saw that Cisco was shooting daggers at them. Barry grinned at him and gave him a little thumbs up. 

Caitlin went to sit across from Cisco and turned to Barry and Iris, "Oh okay, maybe we can all get a drink sometime", she said then took another sip of her coffee.

Barry and Iris both agreed before turning around and leaving Jitters. They walked in silence for a few moments, sipping their coffees, before Iris turned to Barry, smiling, "Seems like Cisco has a little crush on Dr. Snow."

Barry chuckled and said, "Yeah, she's all he's been talking about for the past two months and a half." 

Iris smiled, "She's likes him too, why don't he ask her out on a date?" Iris asked.

Barry shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'm not sure. He's always smiling when he talks about her to me, always telling me how beautiful he thinks she is, and how he could talk to her about any and every thing for hours. I don't know after seeing how nervous he gets around her, I would be a little scared to ask out my crush too."

Iris stopped and looked up at Barry. Iris wondered if he was still talking about Cisco or someone else. "He must really like her, I think he should go for it", she said and Barry nodded and noticed that they were standing in front of CCPN. "This is me."

Barry looked at her and he started opening and closing his mouth, trying to find the right words to say. "Can I have your number? You can call or text me and let me know if you got the job and maybe I can help you by giving you some good intel on some cases. Plus we're friends, friends have each others numbers", he finished. 

Iris looked at Barry with amusement in her eyes, "Yes, you can have my number, Barry Allen." Barry grinned at her and exchanged each other numbers. Barry gave her a hug for good luck and Iris let go, then walked into the building. Iris looked around and saw people rushing past, people were barking orders at each other. Iris turned back to the front entrance and saw Barry still standing there, he gave her a little wave before headed toward CCPD. Iris smiled then took a deep breath before trying to find someone to show her where Mason Bridge's office was.

She bumped into what seemed like a young intern and turned to him, "I'm sorry, hey, do you mind showing me where Mason Bridge's office is?" Iris asked.

The young boy nodded, "Sure, his office is straight ahead", he said while pointing to it. Iris said a quick thank you and headed towards the door. She took another deep breath and went to open the door but someone swung it open. Iris stepped back and instantly recognized the familiar voice.

"All I'm saying Mason is that if I had a personal assistant, things would just go so much smoother", Linda said jokingly but Iris could detect the hint of seriousness in her voice. Linda turned to find Iris standing in the doorway and then turned to show an older man sitting on the edge of his desk. "Mason this is Iris West, the amazing journalist from Keystone City I was telling you about."

Iris looked at Mason Bridge who face looked as if it never experienced pure happiness before. Linda whispered to Iris, "Look, he's smiling, he likes you already." Iris then turned to Linda with an incredulous look on her. She couldn't tell if Linda was joking or being serious.

Mason got up from sitting on his desk to go sit in his chair, "Could I speak to Miss West alone, Park?", he asked in flat tone. Linda closed the door behind her but not before sending Iris an encouraging look. Iris hesitantly sat down in one of the chairs across from Mason's desk. They sat in silence and Iris shifted uncomfortably. Mason took a sip of coffee from his mug that read " _World's Best Boss"._ Iris raised an eyebrow and looked up at Mason. "I've seen your work and I have to say I'm very impressed", Iris smiled brightly and he continued, "but I do have to say that arms dealers piece, that was pretty..." he trailed off, trying to find the right word to use.

Iris spoke up, "Badass?" Iris tried to finish for him and Mason smirked or what Iris thought was a smirk.

"Yeah, badass. I like you, West, when can you start?" he asked as he stood up from his desk. Iris stood up too and grinned widely.

"I can start today, tomorrow, whenever, your call, boss", Iris said happily and Mason came around the desk.

"Tomorrow morning, 8 am sharp", Mason said.

Iris smiled wider and muttered a thank you before walking out of his office to find Linda. She found her talking to the intern that she had accidentally ran into earlier. Linda turned around after Iris tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention and said, "Well, don't leave me hanging. Did you get the job?" Iris tried to put on a poker face but she was too excited. Her face broke out into a smile and Linda cheered loudly then gave Iris a big hug. "See I knew you would get it."

Iris giggled and Linda laughed. Mason came out of his office and huffed in annoyance, "Park, West, if you're both done with your giggle fest, I would like for my employees to get back to work." Linda and Iris both looked around building to find a few eyes were staring at them with a mix of annoyance and amusement. Iris told Linda that she would see her later on tonight and left CCPN.

As she started heading home, Iris pulled out her phone to give Barry a call. He picked up on the second ring, "Hello?"

Iris stomach filled with butterflies again when she heard his voice on the other end of the call. "Hey, Barry."

"Hey", they were silent for a few seconds and then he spoke again, "Did you get the job?"

Iris smiled and siad, "Yeah, I got the job. I start tomorrow morning at 8."

"Congratulations, I told you that you were badass", Iris laughed and then Barry stuttered a bit before getting out his words, "So uh what.. what are you doing tonight? I was thinking we could go out for drinks to celebrate", he finally got out.

Iris would have said yes any other time but she had already made plans with Linda, "I would love to Barry but I already made plans with Linda tonight.." Iris said quietly.

Barry was silent for a second and then he said softly, "Oh", Iris couldn't help to notice the hint of disappointment in his voice.

Iris then thought of an idea, "But I'm free for lunch tomorrow, if you want to do that. You could pick me up from work at 1?" she said in a hopeful voice. Iris could hear the smile in Barry's voice which only made her smile wider.

"Yeah, definitely, I will be there at 1 tomorrow", he said.

"Bye Bar, I'll see you tomorrow", Iris said and couldn't wipe the grin off her face. Barry chuckled deeply which sent a shiver down Iris' spine.

"See you tomorrow." Iris ended the call and bit her lip to keep from grinning. She walked into the house to pack a little bag to take over to Linda's house.

~~~~~~~~~~

An almost empty bottle of wine sat on the table next to a opened box of pizza and mint chocolate chip ice cream. Iris giggled a little as she clinked her wine glass against Linda's. Iris took a sip from her wine glass and said, "Linda, I honestly don't know how I can thank you for being a big help in getting me this job."

Linda waved her off, "Getting the opportunity to work with my best friend? You know I couldn't pass that up but the bigger question is, who was that tall drink of handsome that you were talking to outside?" Linda raised her eyebrows and took a sip of her wine.

Iris tried to hide the smile that crept up on her face, "That so called tall drink of handsome name is Barry Allen", Iris said and then the wine got the best of her, "we are actually going on a lunch date tomorrow."

Linda smiled at Iris and said, "Date, huh?" Iris looked up at Linda and Iris tried to stop the words before they came out.

"He had asked me if I wanted to go out with him tonight but then I said that I couldn't because I'm with you. So I told him that we could go for lunch tomorrow. He's just always in the back of my mind, just being able to hear him laugh or see him smile is like Christmas morning for me. Every time I talk to him, I get these fucking butterflies in my stomach and my heart starts beating out of my chest when he says my name. When I kissed him, all I wanted to do was just have that moment happen over and over again. Then he just says the sweetest things to me, Linda, if you could hear what he says, I feel like floating when I'm with him and when I'm not with him, I want to be.", Iris finished and blew out a breath.

Linda just stared at her and Iris started playing with her fingers. If Iris wasn't sober when she started, she's sure as hell sober now. "I just have one question", Iris raised an eyebrow insulating for her to ask it, "Whats stopping you from being with him? The Iris West I know always knew what she wanted and she wouldn't let anything get in her way of getting it." 

Iris looked up at Linda and thought about what she said. She didn't have to think about it long because she already knew what was keeping her back. Iris took another sip of wine before putting it on the table. Iris knew that she had to tell Linda something because she wasn't going to leave it at that. Iris took a deep breath. She knew that it was time to tell someone and Linda was the best person to tell. Linda might always crack jokes at the worst times but she was Iris' best friend and Iris needed her best friend now more than ever. "Well, lets start from the beginning, shall we?"

 


	4. Karaoke Night

Barry stared at the clock, wishing that it would move faster. He was having lunch with Iris at 1 and he had every intention of not being late. Barry had gotten all of his forensic reports done earlier that morning and now all he had to was wait. Barry continued staring at the clock, listening to the small tick tock of it until he got up groaning to walk around his lab. Barry straightened up his papers on his desk, and washed out his test tubes and placed them back in the tube holder, just to pass the time. After he got done, he looked up at the clock then smiled and went to grab his coat off the rack but heard someone coming up the stairs towards him.

He furrowed his eyebrows,  _I thought I was going to pick her up,_ he thought in his head until he saw the person round the corner. Barry smiled and went to give the person a hug. Detective Eddie Thawne. One of the best detectives in this department, and a very good friend of Barry's. Eddie has been away for a while doing an undercover job and Barry guessed that he just got back.

Barry let Eddie go and patted him on the shoulder, "Hey Eddie, its good to see you", he said.

Eddie smiled and said, "Yeah its good to be back. I was coming up to ask if you wanted to go for lunch but it looks like you already got plans."

Barry hasn't seen Eddie in months and he felt kind of guilty. Barry rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, I kind of have a lunch date with a friend, but we can get drinks tonight after work", Barry said as they walked down the stairs.

Eddie nodded, "Sounds like a plan," and then he turned to Barry and gave him a look, "So a lunch date, huh?", he said while nudging Barry's shoulder.

Barry blushed and said, "I wouldn't say that its a date but we're just celebrating her new job." Eddie nodded and deciding to not press him which Barry was grateful for. He knew he had feelings for Iris and they were just friends but sometimes Barry couldn't help but think, what it would be like if they were more than just friends.

"You should invite her out for drinks tonight, Its going to be fun," Eddie said before walking to Singhs office. Barry nodded and pressed the button to get on the elevator. He thought what Eddie said and finally decided that he would ask Iris, really hoping that she doesn't say no. 

Barry opened the doors to CCPN right when the clock struck 1 o clock. He hesitantly walked into the building and watched people pass by, not acknowledging him at all. Barry looked around the room until his eyes fell on her and he slowly smiled. She was typing away on her computer, completely focused on what she was working until her eyes snapped up to check the clock. Iris finished up what she was typing and started put her things away. Barry walked up to her desk as soon as she put her bag on her shoulder and turned around to notice Barry walking toward.

He smiled at her and looked down at her desk, noticing a stack of papers, "You look pretty busy for your first day, are you sure you still want to have lunch?", he asked.

Iris nodded, "Yeah I'm sure," she said, smiling, "They just gave me a few stories to look, wondering if I wanted to write about one of them for my deadline", she finished as they made their way toward the door. Barry helped Iris put on her coat and she said a quick thank you as a brunette haired woman walked up to them.

She stopped in front of Iris and turned to look Barry up and down, "Are you going on your lunch date, I mean break", the woman said with a mischievous smile.

Iris rolled her eyes and replied, "Yes Linda, I will be back in an hour," Iris went to grab Barry's hand, trying to leave, but Linda stopped them. 

"Some best friend you are, wasn't going to introduce me to the man with the beautiful eyes?", Linda asked and shot Barry a smile who blushed at the compliment.

Iris turned to her best friend and said in a tight voice, "Barry this is my annoying friend, Linda Park, Linda, this is Barry Allen," she finished and then Linda stuck out her hand for Barry to shake which he did. Linda gripped his hand tighter and Barry's eyes shot up to meet hers. Linda shot him a look and oddly Barry knew what she was trying to tell him.

Barry nodded and Linda smiled sweetly at them. She gave Iris a quick hug and slapped Barry on the shoulder, "You two kids have fun," she said before walking away.

Barry went to hold the door open for Iris and they made their way towards Jitters. Iris gasped as the cold air hit them and Barry watched as she tighten her coat around her. Iris looked up at Barry, "Sorry about Linda, she can be a bit much sometimes", she said.

Barry chuckled, "Thats alright, she's funny and plus she said I had beautiful eyes", he said while batting his eyelashes at Iris.

Iris rolled her eyes again but smiled, "Don't expect many compliments from her, she only said that to irritate me."

Barry looked at her confused.  _Why would that irritate her?,_ he thought to himself but didn't get the chance to ask as they reached the front entrance of Jitters. They walked in and waited in line to order their food while Iris went to go find seats. Barry came a few minutes later, holding two sweet teas and sat down them on the table. Iris took hers, happily, and took a sip.

She smiled up at Barry, "Thank you for lunch, Bar, I really appreciate it", Iris said.

Barry grinned at the little nickname that she had given him, "You're welcome. Is that my new nickname?", he asked. The barista came and sat down their food in front of them and they thanked her before she went off back to work.

Iris bit into one of her fries, "Do you not like it?", she asked.

Barry shook his head and said, "No I like it", he said while smiling at her. He took a bite of his sandwich and swallowed before asking Iris a question, "Did you and Linda have fun last night?", he asked.

"It was great, we had a lot of catching up to do", she said but she said the last part of little quietly. 

Barry nodded, "At least you had fun, Cisco just yelled at me the entire night for leaving him at Jitters with Caitlin", he said and Iris laughed.

Iris looked up at Barry, "Did he say what happened after we left?", she asked and then took a bit of her sandwich.

Barry shrugged his shoulders, then said, "He didn't say much, just that they talked about work but I feel like something else happened."

Iris furrowed her eyebrows, "Something good or bad?"

Barry popped a fry into his mouth, "I'm not sure but when I find out, you're going to be my first call", he said while smiling and she returned it. They ate in a comfortable silence and were almost done with their food until Iris started laughing a bit.

Barry finished eating his fries and looked up at her, "What?", he asked. 

Iris gestured to her face and Barry wiped at it but he guessed he missed because Iris laughed again. Barry wiped his face again and Iris reached over the table, saying, "Here let me", she moved her thumb over the corner of his mouth and wiped away some ketchup. Barry blushed and watched her wipe the ketchup on a stray napkin.

Barry looked at Iris and hoped his face wasn't still flushed, "Thanks," he said.

Now, it was Iris turn to shrug, "No problem", she said smiling, "I couldn't be seen with a guy who had ketchup on the corner of his mouth," she replied in a teasing tone. Barry feigned to be hurt but laughed anyways. Barry waited patiently for Iris to finish the little food she had before he walked her back to CCPN.

On their little short walk back, Barry tried to figure out a way to ask Iris out for drinks. Barry had to admit to himself that he was kind of nervous because he didn't know what she would say. They came to a stop at the doors of CCPN and Iris turned to Barry with a smile on her face. 

"Thank you again, Barry, I had a good time", she said and Barry smiled back at her.

"Of course, I had fun too. Hopefully, we can do this again sometime?", it came out more as a question. Iris looked up at him and tucked a hair behind her ear.

She nodded her head, and smiled brightly, "Definitely", she said and then turned around to head into the building.

 _Now or never, Barry,_ he said in his mind. Barry reached out to grab Iris arm before she opened the doors. She turned around to face Barry with her eyebrows raised. Barry took a deep breath, "I was thinking, did you want to get drinks tonight? But not just with me, me and my friends, we're going to get drinks after work and I was just wondering if you wanted to, um, to come. You can always bring your friends. You can bring Linda if you want", he finally finished and blew out a breath.

Barry's heart was thumping out of his chest as he waited for her to answer. She slowly smiled and said, "Barry Allen, you sure do know how to ask out a girl. Yes, I would love to get drinks with you and your friends tonight."

Barry grinned, "Okay great, I will text you time and place", he said and Iris smiled. She gave him a little wave before heading inside.

As soon as Barry got back to the precinct, he found Eddie and they came up with a time and place. Barry went up to the stairs to his lab and pulled out his phone to text Iris.

_We're meeting at the bar_ _downtown at 7. :)_

Barry put his phone down on his desk as he sat down. A minute went by and his phone buzzed.

**Can't wait :)**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Barry opened the door to the bar and Cisco followed him in. As they walked in, they instantly found Eddie sitting with... Patty Spivot. Barry gulped as he made his way over to her. Barry and Patty had a little bit of history and Barry can't stress how little it was. They went on a couple of dates but after those dates, Barry didn't feel anything. He had to admit that she was a very pretty woman and they had a lot in common but Barry just didn't feel a connection between them, a spark. Even though, Patty thought differently.

When Barry walked up to the table, Eddie mouthed 'Sorry' and Barry sent him a small smile. Eddie knew of Patty and Barry's brief history and he knew that Barry didn't feel the same for Patty as she did for him. Barry sent Patty a quick smile before heading to the bar to order a beer.

Barry took a sip from his beer and checked the clock, 7:15. He pulled out his phone to check to see if anyone texted him but his phone read,  _No New Messages._ He sighed and pocketed his phone but then felt a tap on his shoulder.

He turned around to find Patty standing in front of him. She smiled at him and Barry looked toward Eddie and Cisco to find them playing darts. Barry looked back at Patty and she said, "Sorry if I'm invading a guys night. I overheard you and Eddie earlier today at the precinct and Eddie said it was okay when I asked." Barry nodded and sipped his beer. 

"No, its okay, the more the merrier", he said and gave her a small smile. Barry looked around the room and made sure that he didn't see Iris anywhere before him and Patty went over to Cisco who was whopping loudly.

"Thats how you do it right there! I'm the Dart King, Eddie", he said and then saw Barry walk up, "Barry you're next, come on", he said as he went to take the darts out the board and Barry took some of the darts. Eddie and Patty went to go get a round of beer and as he left, Iris and Linda walked in.

Barry grinned from ear to ear as they walked up. Linda took her coat off and said, "You guys playing darts? I call going next." Linda sat down and Iris sat next to her, giving Barry a little wave which he returned.

Barry and Cisco finished up their game and Cisco won which made him cheer loudly again, "I can't be stopped! Who else wants some of this?", he said with his arms out, looking around the table.

Linda hopped up out of her seat, "Lets do this", she said and then her and Cisco started playing. Barry shook his head in amusement and went to sit next to Iris.

She watched them play for a while before turning to Barry, "Sorry I'm late but Linda was taking forever to get ready", she said, rolling her eyes.

Barry chuckled and said, "Thats okay, I'm just glad you could make it." 

"Yeah, me too", Iris said while smiling. Barry reached out and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. His thumb brushed over her cheek and her face flushed. Barry grinned at her and then Eddie and Patty came back with the drinks. 

Barry reached for a beer and went to introduce the friends that Iris hasn't met yet. He gestured to Patty, "This is Patty Spivot, she's a detective at CCPD and this is-"

"Eddie?", Iris asked with a hint of shock in her voice, and Eddie turned to her at the sound of his name.

His eyes grew wide at the sight of her, "Iris?"

She got up out of her seat and went to give Eddie a big hug. Patty, Barry, and Cisco looked at the with confused expressions and Linda just stared at the two with a small smile. "Eddie, its so good to see you, how the hell have you been?", Iris asked as she let him go. 

"I'm good, I guess Joe didn't tell you that I'm a detective now", Iris shook her head and they went into a small conversation of their own.

Barry looked between the two and cleared his throat. They both turned to him at the same time, "I'm guessing you two already know each other?"

Iris smiled and put an arm around his shoulder, "Know him? Eddie, Linda, and I were basically inseparable in elementary school and all the way throughout high school. He's like the older brother, I never had", she said as she ruffled his hair.

Barry blew out a breath, he didn't realize he was holding and took a sip of his beer. Linda gave Eddie a quick hug before turning back to her little dart game with Cisco. Linda ended up beating Cisco and he stared at the dart board in disbelief. Linda took a sip from her beer and grinned at Cisco, "Wait, wait, I want a rematch", Cisco said, not completely believing that was just dethroned from being the Dart King.

Patty was the first one to go and she went up to Barry, "Thanks Barry, I had fun", she said. Barry nodded and she hugged him but before she pulled away, she placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. Barry was surprised and Patty waved at everyone before leaving.

Cisco watched her leave and then his eyes cut to the bar area. Barry turned around to see him staring at Caitlin Snow and she wasn't alone. She was laughing at whatever the guy said and Cisco went to sit down next to Barry. Barry slapped him on the shoulder, "Is that what you didn't want to tell me the last night?", he asked quietly.

Cisco slowly nodded, "His name is Ronnie Raymond, he's a structural engineer at STAR Labs", he said. 

Barry nodded and looked back to where she was sitting. Caitlin looked up and locked eyes with Barry then she turned to look at Cisco sitting next to him. Her smile slowly dropped and an emotion passed over her face. She turned back to Ronnie as he started talking again but Barry noticed that she kept sneaking glances at them. "I'm going to get you another drink, okay?" Cisco nodded as he ate some peanuts.

Barry went up to the bar and saw that Iris was waiting on a drink of her own. Barry stood beside her and looked down at her, "Hey, having fun?", he asked.

Iris smiled, "Yeah, I am", Barry nodded and she continued, "So you and Patty, huh?" The way she said it, Barry almost thought she sounded jealous.

Barry scrunched his eyebrows together,"Me and Patty? No, no, we went on two dates but that was long ago", Barry said and Iris nodded briefly.

"Why not a third?", she asked as the bartender handed her a drink.

Barry looked her in the eyes and said, "Because I knew she wasn't the right girl for me." Barry wondered if Iris felt the tension building between them. Iris smiled and opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Eddie coming up to them.

"Barry, I signed you up for karaoke", he said, slurring his words a little bit.

Barry looked at Eddie, wide eyed, "Why would you do that, Eddie?", he asked.

Eddie shrugged and took a sip of his beer. Iris took the beer from Eddie and sat it on the counter then turned to Barry, "Wait a second, you can sing?"

Cisco walked up to them with Linda beside him, "Like an angel", Cisco answered as he grabbed Eddie's beer and finished it.

Barry rolled his eyes and looked at Iris, "Too bad you won't be able to hear me sing", he said.

Linda shook her head and took Barry by the arm, leading him towards the small stage, "Now, now Barry, this night has been great. You've got to end it with a bang", she said before pushing him on the stage.

The small crowd in the bar cheered as he got up on stage. Barry looked around and his eyes landed on Iris who gave him a thumbs up. He walked over to the guy who was handling the music and told him what song he wanted. Barry closed his eyes as the instrumental of Elvis Presley,  _Can't Help Falling In Love,_ started to play.

_Wise men say only fools rush in_

_But I can't help falling in love with you_

_Shall I stay?_

_Would it be a sin_

_If I can't help falling in love with you?_

_Like a river flows surely to the sea_

_Darling so it goes_

_Some things are meant to be_

_Take my hand, take my whole life too_

_For I can't help falling in love with you_

_Like a river flows surely to the sea_

_Darling so it goes_

_Some things are meant to be_

_Take my hand, take my whole life too_

_For I can't help falling in love with you_

_For I can't help falling in love with you_

As finished the last line, he opened his eyes and the crowd was speechless for a moment before they all started clapping. Barry grinned before walking off the stage and back toward his friends. They all clapped for him and Barry laughed. Linda grabbed a napkin and pretended she was crying, "Brava, brava, encore!", she exclaimed in a British accent. Everyone laughed.

Barry went to sit next to Iris and she turned to him with an amazed expression on her face, "Barry that was incredible, Cisco was right for once", she said.

Barry blushed and grinned, "Thanks Iris." Iris continued looking at him and he asked, "What?"

"Nothing, nothing. I was going to ask why you chose that song", she said.

Barry shrugged, "Its just been at the back of my mind, lately, for some reason", he said not really thinking much of it. As the night went on, Barry and Iris kept sneaking glances at each other when the other wasn't looking. Barry kept thinking back to what Iris said earlier. While he was on stage, he had his eyes close as he sung the song. When he was singing, images of Iris' face kept popping up in his mind. Barry now realized why he picked the song, and why he sang it with such emotion. He was falling for Iris West and he was falling fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the song is cheesy but I love me some Elvis Presley, and if you don't, bless your heart. Comment what you would like to see more of, and the next update is coming Wednesday. Hope you liked this chapter! :)


	5. Brownies and The Notebook

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter seems short. The next chapter is going to be a little intense. :)

It's been a couple of weeks since that night at the bar and Barry and Iris have been inseparable. They are always hanging out with their friends but sometimes alone. They have lunch any chance they get and Barry still comes to her house on Sundays to have dinner. Just the other day, Barry took Iris to the science museum which caught Iris by surprise. Iris remembered not liking science very much when she was in school but she couldn't help feeling special as they entered the building. Science is what Barry loves and he's was sharing that part of him with her. He had the biggest smile on his face as he looked around the building and Iris couldn't help smiling as well.

Iris was basically being dragged from display to display and laughed at how much Barry was acting like a child. He was enthusiastically explaining what was on display and Iris giggled.

Barry turned to her and his smile fell a little, "I'm not boring you, am I?", he had asked and Iris immediately shook her head.

"No, no, never, sorry. You're just really passionate about this and its a little cute", she replied and smiled at him.

Barry smiled ear to ear, "If you would have said yes, I would have taken you to get ice cream after this", he said.

Iris perked up when she heard ice cream, "Well in that case, you're boring the hell out of me, Barry Allen", she said jokingly and Barry laughed. Iris continued saying, "We can go and hopefully they have-"

Barry cut her off by saying, "Mint chocolate chip. I will make sure they do but can we finish the tour first?" Iris smiled up him and nodded. They finished the tour and Barry as promised took Iris to get ice cream which served her mint chocolate chip. Iris ate her ice cream happily and wished for more days like that with Barry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's a Saturday afternoon and Barry was on his way over but Iris wasn't really sure what they were doing yet. Iris was getting ready, smiling, excited to see Barry again even though she saw him last night. Iris loved every moment her and Barry shared together, and learning new things about him every day. She was pulling her shirt over her head when the bell rang and she went down stairs to open the door. A cheesing Barry Allen stood on the doorstep holding something in his hands.

Iris let him and he hung up his coat then turned to Iris. Iris pointed at what he was holding, "What's that?", she asked.

Barry looked down at his hands and handed it to her, "I remember you telling me how much you loved that pastry shop across town so I brought you a little something", he said.

Iris took it happily and opened it but she already knew what it was. Iris inhaled the sweet smell of the fudge brownie, sighing contently, and looked up at Barry, "You went across town to get me a brownie?", she asked, not believing how sweet he was being.

Barry shrugged his shoulders, "It was on the way", he said.

Iris wrapped her arms around Barry's waist and hugged him, "Thank you, Bar, that was really sweet of you", she said as she felt him hug her tight.

Barry looked down at her, letting her go, "No problem, I just hope that you'll share with me."

Iris nodded and smiled before walking towards the kitchen to grab a couple of forks. She went into the living room to find Barry on the couch flipping through the tv to find something to watch. She placed the brownie on the table and handed Barry a fork. They started digging in and in a matter of seconds, it was all gone.

Iris looked at Barry and raised her eyebrows, "Well?"

Barry shrugged, "It was okay", he said and Iris pushed him, "No, it was really good. It was definitely going across town for."

Iris smiled and got up to put everything away while Barry picked a movie. When Iris came back into the living room, Barry was sitting back on the couch, remote in his hand, and was ready to press play to start the movie. Iris read the title and smiled, "Jeepers Creepers, really?"

Barry smiled and raised his eyebrows, "What? Are you scared of scary movies?", he teased.

Iris rolled her eyes and sat down next to Barry, "Of course not, now press play", she said.

Barry laughed and pressed play then put his arm up on the couch. Iris scooted a little closer to Barry and she felt him wrap his arm around her waist, bringing her even closer to him. Iris laid her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around his arms. They sat there, cuddled up, watching the movie until Iris ended up falling asleep. Before she fell asleep, she could feel Barry playing in her hair and heard him mutter under his breath, "Beautiful."

Iris felt Barry shift beside and she opened her eyes slowly. She looked up at Barry and he smiled at her, "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up", he said.

Iris yawned a little and untangled her self from Barry, "No, its okay. Sorry for using you as a pillow." Barry waved it off and they finished the last bit of the movie. After the movie ended, it was Iris turn to pick what movie she wanted. She found the one she was looking and put it into the dvd player. As Iris went to sit back down, she heard Barry as the title popped up on the screen.

"The Notebook? Really?", he asked and Iris hit in the arm.

"The Notebook is amazing and you cant be pouting throughout it either", she said as she pressed play. "I think you're going to like it, Barry."

Barry looked down at Iris and shook his head, "I highly doubt that." During the entire movie, Barry's eyes never left the tv and Iris looked at him with amusement in her eyes. When the credits popped up on the screen, Barry turned to Iris and said, "Wait thats it?"

"Yeah, did you like it?", she asked as she pressed pause.

Barry turned to Iris and nodded, "I mean, he built that house for her and didn't know if she was coming back to him", Iris nodded and Barry continued, "And then he wrote her a letter everyday for a year", he finished.

"I know, how romantic. I told you that you would like it", she said while smiling and Barry rolled his eyes.

They stayed in watching movies until it was dark outside. Iris looked up at the clock, 8:25, and she got up to stretch. Barry was knocked out on the couch and she chose to let him sleep for a few more minutes before waking him up. She walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water and heard something fall in the living room. Iris head whipped toward the living room, "Barry?" No answer. Iris put the glass of water down and called out again, "Barry?"

When he didn't answer again, Iris started to slightly panic,  _He_ _found me,_ she thought in her head. Iris slowly started walking to the living room and Barry wasn't on the couch anymore, instead she found him on the floor. "Why didn't you answer me, Barry? You almost gave me a heart attack", she said as she sat next to him, sighing in relief.

He turned to her and said, "Sorry, I was about to but then I tripped over the table."

Iris shook her head, laughing, and reached out to fix his hair, "Wow, Allen. Real smooth."

Barry laughed and Iris helped him up off the floor which cause Iris to stumble a little bit. Barry was a little heavy, Iris had to admit, and when she stumbled, she hit the couch. Iris let out a yelp as she fell back on the couch which brought Barry down on top of her. The both of them laughed and Barry said, "Wow, West. Real smooth."

Iris smacked him on the arm and smiled, "I wasn't expecting you to be so heavy", she said jokingly, "I thought I had it."

Barry looked offended but smiled anyways. Neither one of them moved from the position they were in, but instead stared into each others eyes. Barry's smile never faded from his face as he lowered his head to kiss Iris. Iris broke eye contact only to look down at his lips and she licked her lips. His mouth hovered over hers and Iris could feel his breath against her lips. He brushed his lips over hers and her heart was about to burst out of chest. Barry was about to seal the small gap between them until the lock on the door turn.

They broke apart and Barry moved from being on top of Iris to sit next to her. Joe and Wally came in laughing loudly and they both looked to the couch, where Barry and Iris were sitting. The two of them were breathing heavily and their faces were flushed. When Iris caught her breath, she looked at Barry before turning to her dad and brother. She cleared her throat, "Hey guys, do you want some dinner?"

Joe looked between her and Barry, "We're good, Wally and I actually brought Big Belly Burger for dinner", he said while holding up the bag of food.

Iris nodded and turned to Barry who was staring at the tv. Iris tapped him on the shoulder and he turned towards her, "Do you want to stay for dinner?" 

"I would love to but I should probably get going", he said while standing up. 

Joe nodded and asked, "Are you still coming over for dinner tomorrow?"

Barry was putting on his coat and turned to look at Joe then turned to Iris, "Yeah, I will be here", he said with a smile.

Wally was chewing on a couple of fries, "You better, they are going to finally let me cook."

Barry laughed, "If thats the case, I will make sure to come with my own food." Joe and Iris laughed while Wally just pouted. Wally and Joe went into the kitchen while Iris walked Barry out.

He opened the door and Iris followed him, closing the door behind her. She looked up at Barry and he stuck his hands in his pockets. "Thanks for just sitting here watching movies with me all day", she said with a smile.

Barry smiled back, "I prefer that over going out any day", he said and Iris laughed. Barry reached up and rubbed the back of his neck then continued saying, "I've been meaning to ask you this for a while. The annual Policeman Ball is coming up soon and I was just wondering if you would like to go with..with me."

Iris smiled sweetly at him, "Of course, I will go with you, Bar."

Barry grinned and then nodded. He took a step closer to Iris and looked down at her. Iris met his gaze and he brought his head down to place a kiss on her cheek. His lips were warm against her cheek and she blushed as he pulled away. They were grinning at each other as if they had just won the lottery then Barry turned around and walked down the steps. On the last step he turned back around towards Iris and said, "Good night, Iris."

"Good night Barry", she replied and watched him get into his car. She stood outside until she couldn't see his car anymore then turned to go back inside. She closed the door behind her and leaned up against the door with a big smile on her face. Iris reached up to touch her cheek where Barry kissed her and closed her eyes. Iris welcome the butterflies that were fluttering around in her stomach as she thought to when Barry brushed his lips against hers. She opened her eyes and took a breath before walking into the kitchen to eat dinner with her family.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween everyone! I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter, I had to throw in my favorite scary movie since of course, its halloween.


	6. The Cinderella of the Ball

Barry nervously knocked on the front of the West household. Barry adjusted his tie for the millionth time that night and fixed his hair a little as he held onto the single red rose he brought for Iris. Barry waited for a few minutes and was about to knock again but then door flew open. Joe stood in the door way while Wally struggled with his tie. 

Barry walked into the house and turned to Joe. He nodded his head in approval at the suit that Joe was wearing and looked up at him, smiling. Joe did a little spin and wiped away imaginary dust on his shoulder, "I know, I know, I look good, don't I?", he asked, smiling.

Barry laughed and patted Joe on the shoulder, "Hell yeah."

Joe chuckled and looked down at Barry's hand, noticing the rose. He looked back up at Barry, "Barry, come over here, I want to have a little talk with you." Barry gulped and made his over towards Joe,  _Shit,_ he thought in his head.

Barry got nervous about what Joe wanted to talk about so he started doing what he did the best, rambling. "Look Joe before you say anything, I'm sorry. I probably should have asked you first before asking Iris to go to the ball with me but I wasn't thinking about that at the time. I know Iris is your only daughter and that you're very protective of her but so am I ", Joe opened his mouth to say something but Barry continued, "I wouldn't hurt her in any type of way or let any one else hurt her for that matter. I've never met anyone like her before, Joe", he finished and blew out a breath.

Joe looked at Barry and slowly smiled, "I've noticed the way you look at her, Barry, and what you two have is growing into something very special", Barry blushed and Joe finished saying, "But if she tells me that you hurt her, just remember I'm the best shot in the precinct." Barry laughed a little nervously but when he noticed that Joe wasn't joking, the smile wiped clean off his face.

Joe patted him on the shoulder and shot him smile before walking over to Wally to help him with his tie. Barry blew out another breath and smiled despite Joe kind of threatening to shoot him. There was nothing holding Barry back from becoming more than friends with Iris, after getting approval from Joe. Now it was just time to dance the night away with the girl of his dreams. 

Barry heard heels coming down the stairs and he looked up to see Iris looking more radiant as ever. Barry's mouth fell open a bit as he watched Joe help her walk down the last step. He couldn't take his eyes away from as he looked down at her dress. She wore a bright red dress which had a slit and v-neckline. She wore hair down which fell over her shoulders and her eyes were shining as she looked toward Barry.

Barry's mouth was still slightly open and Wally scoffed in disgust, "Ew, close your mouth before you start drooling everywhere, Barry", he said jokingly.

He snapped his mouth shut, blushing slightly, and Iris laughed. He walked over to Iris and gave her a hug which she happily took. He stood there holding her tight against him and he whispered in her ear, "You look captivating, just incredibly gorgeous." Iris laughed and Barry let her go then handed her the rose. "I wanted to buy you a bouquet of them but I didn't know if that was too much or not so I just went with buying one."

Iris took it from him and brought it up to her nose to sniff, "Thank you Barry, its perfect." Barry grinned and Iris smiled up at him. "Are you ready to go?", she asked and Barry nodded excitedly. Iris gave her dad a quick hug and she tugged on Wally's ear but then brought him closer to whisper something in his ear. He instantly blushed and Iris smiled before linking her arms with Barry's. He opened the car door for her then they made their way toward the ball.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

A golden, sparkling, chandelier dangled on the ceiling making the ballroom light up brightly. Barry looked around the room and couldn't help to be amazed. He looked down at Iris who looked just as amazed as he was. She looked up at him and laughed a little, "Wow, this is amazing." Barry nodded and held her hand tighter as they made their way through the crowd of people. Barry saw waiters walking around passing around champagne, and serving hors d' oeuvres but one stood out amongst the rest. 

He was wearing a waiters uniform but he wasn't serving people. The waiter was standing off to the side, as if he didn't want to be seen.  _He probably just ran out of what he was serving,_ Barry thought in his head. He just looked around the room, looking at all the people enjoying themselves, until his eyes fell on Barry. The waiter smiled at him mischievously and Barry furrowed his eyebrows, smiling a little back.

A waiter walked up to Barry with a tray of glasses filled with champagne, "Would you like some champagne, sir?", he asked and Barry took two glasses, handing one to Iris. She clinked her glass against his and they both took a sip. Barry toward his attention back towards the waiter who smiled at him earlier but he wasn't there anymore. Barry didn't think much into and toward back to his date.

Barry was staring at Iris, really taking in her appearance. The dress hugged her slim and curved figure in places that Barry should stop staring at. He tore his eyes away and they moved toward her neckline. He took a step closer to her and reached forward. Iris' eyes grew wide and she said, "Barry", but he wasn't grabbing for that, he grabbed her necklace.

He looked at the necklace that laid in his hand, "This is pretty, did Joe give this to you?", he asked as he examined the diamond.

Iris shook her head, "No, my mom actually gave it to me."

Barry let go of the necklace and his eyes met hers. He didn't know what to say. Iris never talked about her mother and Joe only mentioned that she wasn't in the picture anymore. Barry didn't know what that really meant and didn't press the subject either. "I'm sorry", he decided to say.

Iris looked confused at first and then realization appeared on her face. She laughed a bit, "She's not dead, Bar, she's alive and well as far as I know. She moved to National City when I was about 12 years old and Wally was about 6. I haven't really seen her since but its okay, I'm better off anyways."

Barry grabbed Iris' face softly and looked down at her, she was still a little short despite wearing high heels. "I'm sorry about your mom", and Iris opened her mouth to say something but Barry cut her off, "and I know you're going to say that I don't need to apologize but most people need a mother in their life. It might not be my place to say but its been years since you two have talked, do you think that you two should find closure?" he asked a little hesitantly.

"Maybe you're right but we can talk about that later, lets enjoy tonight", she said grinning at him. Barry grinned back at her and took his hands off of her face to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. 

Barry felt like someone was staring at him and he looked to the side of him. He looked through the crowd of people until his eyes landed on the waiter from earlier. The guy stood there staring at Barry and Iris and Barry stared at him with a suspicious look in his eyes. Barry noticed he wasn't in the same outfit that he was in earlier and the guy smiled again. He tipped his hat towards him and Barry turned to Iris, "I will be right back."

Barry started walking towards the suspicious man, weaving his way through the swarm of people, but when he got to where the guy was standing, he wasn't standing there anymore. Barry looked around the room, trying to find him but it was as if the guy disappeared out of thin air.  _What the hell?,_ he thought as he made his way back to Iris. 

She put her hand on his arm and looked at him with concern in her eyes, "Are you okay?", she asked and Barry nodded. He could tell that she wasn't convinced but she chose to drop it for now. Barry noticed a woman walk in wearing a long sleeve purple dress that stopped right above her knees.

She turned and Barry saw a glimpse of her face, "Is that Linda?", he asked with a little surprise in his voice. Iris turned to where he was looking and smiled.

"Yeah, thats her. I will be right back", she said before walking off to talk to her best friend. Barry watched her as she walked away and turned to walk towards the bar. He noticed Cisco, Wally, and Joe sitting on the bar stools. 

Barry walked up to them and took a seat down next to Cisco, who was messing with his bowtie. "Why do we have to wear these formal suits anyways? I would look just as sexy wearing a shirt and jeans", he said as Barry settled into his seat.

Wally laughed and Joe just shook his head in amusement. Joe looked at Barry, "Hey Bar, wheres Iris?"

"She ran off to talk to Linda, they're around here somewhere", he answered and after hearing Linda's name, Wally perked up.

"Linda's here?", he asked, trying act as if he wasn't excited to see her but he wasn't convincing anyone. Barry smiled and it faltered a bit as he thought back to the guy who was staring at him and Iris. He wanted to tell Joe about what he saw but Barry didn't know exactly what he saw. He didn't notice a weapon on the guy, all he knows is that he has a serious staring problem. For all Barry knew, the guy could just be a waiter who's terrible at his job but there was something in Barry's gut that wasn't sitting right when he looked at the guy.

Right when Barry decided he was going to mention something to Joe, Captain Singh walked up and patted him on the back. "You enjoying yourself, Allen?" Barry nodded and he smiled then turned to the rest of the group, "What about you guys?", Wally and Cisco nodded.

Joe took a sip from his champagne, "As long as they keep the drinks coming, I will be having a wonderful time", he said laughing. 

Captain Singh chuckled a bit and said, "I will make sure they do but in the meantime, I want you to come meet some people Joe." Joe got up from his and followed Captain Singh. Barry watched them walk away and turned to Cisco.

"Is  Dr. Snow coming?", Barry asked Cisco who was still slightly messing with his bowtie. 

Cisco nodded, "She told me that she was planning on it but I haven't seen her yet." 

Barry patted his friend on the shoulder, "I'm sure she's around here somewhere, just waiting for you to sweep her off her feet", he said and turned around as he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. 

He turned around to find Iris standing in the middle of Linda and Caitlin Snow. Caitlin wore a long shining gold dress that almost matched the chandelier. She looked at Cisco, blushing, who just stared at her with wide eyes. Barry smiled and looked at Wally who was grinning like an idiot at Linda. Iris winked at Barry who also blushed, she turned to Cisco and said, "Look who me and Linda bumped into as we were walking over here."

Cisco stood up and went to stand in front of Caitlin, "Wow, you look absolutely beautiful."

Caitlin smiled and the band started playing a slow song. Caitlin looked at Cisco, "Would you like to dance with me, Cisco?", she asked and Cisco nodded before taking her hand to lead them to the dance floor. Cisco turned towards Barry who just gave him a thumbs up and a big smile. Barry turned his attention to Linda and Wally. 

Wally was just sitting there grinning at Linda and she rolled her eyes, "Are you going to sit there staring at me like a maniac or are we going to go dance?" Wally shot up out of his seat as soon as she said that and dragged her onto the dance floor. Barry laughed and turned to Iris. 

Barry stood up from his seat and went to stand in front of her. He held out his hand to her, grinning, "Iris Ann West, may I have this dance?" 

Her grin matched his, just as wide and shining just as bright, "Yes you may, Bartholomew Henry Allen."

Barry laughed and led them to a spot away from the old couple who were practically groping each other. Barry put his hands on Iris's waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck. They swayed slowly to the music and Iris came closer to him to place her head on his chest. Barry smiled and pressed his hands on the exposed skin of her lower back. Iris gasped at the sudden contact and Barry said, "Sorry if my hands are cold."

"No, your hands fine." Barry smiled and looked around the room until his eyes landed on his friends. Cisco couldn't stop staring at Caitlin which was making her blush but she had the biggest smile on her face. Barry smiled and found Wally and Linda. Wally was still wearing the same grin on his face and Linda rolled her eyes again but couldn't help the smile growing on her face or the blush. Barry looked back down at Iris and wished he could be in this moment forever.

Holding Iris in his arms is the one of the feelings that Barry wants to have for the rest of his life. To hold her, kiss her, love and cherish her, the girl of his dreams. They continued swaying to the music and Barry felt as if they were two in the room. Iris looked up at Barry and they locked eyes. Barry grinned and his heart was doing a little happy dance when he stared at her. He took one hand that rested on her back to cup the side of her face and caressed it softly. Barry leaned his head down and she titled her head up.

Barry pressed his lips softly against hers and he felt her kiss him back. He broke the kiss but kept his eyes closed for a while before opening them to find a smiling Iris. "Finally", he heard Linda yell. Barry laughed and Iris only shook her head. He leaned his head back down to kiss her again but someone had fired a gun.

People started screaming as more gunshots ricocheted throughout the building. Barry noticed Captain Singh yelling orders at officers and went to make sure no one was hurt. He saw Joe take off running outside the building to find the shooter. Barry pulled Iris close, "We're going to get out of here. Stay close to me, okay, don't let go of my hand", he said in a stern voice. Iris nodded and gripped Barry's hand. 

Barry tried to fight his way through the screaming swarm of people, and squeezed Iris's hand. Barry kept fighting his way through but her hand was yanked from his. Barry whipped around, "Iris!" He pushed and shoved people out of his way trying to get back to her. "Iris!", he yelled as he looked around the room. Barry ran a hand through his hair and he started breathing heavily, "Iris!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I really enjoyed writing it :) I'm not sure when the next update will be because college is kicking my ass right now. Let me know how you felt about this chapter in the comments!


	7. Dodged A Bullet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm backkkkk, I know that I have been away for a while but I'm back with a new chapter, ENJOY!

"Barry!", Iris yelled as soon as her hand was ripped away from his. Iris fought throughout the crowd, trying to get back to Barry, wanting to feel safe again. Some people continued screaming out for their loved ones and others were pushing their way toward the nearest entrance. Iris tried looking over the crowds to see if she could spot Barry anywhere but she couldn't find him. She hoped that he got lost in the crowd that was being pushed toward the doors. Iris continued looking around the room, wishing silently that her eyes would meet his beautiful green eyes but instead she saw a suspicious guy, dressed in all black, making his way towards a back door.

The guy looked around quickly before opening the door and disappearing in the darkness. Iris knew she should stay with the group people pushing forward but she couldn't help the feeling of wanting to follow the man. She slowly started walking towards the door and reached out her hand to open the door, but hesitated. 

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath,  _It's not too late to turn around and go back,_ she thought in her head. Instead of turning around which she knew she should have, she opened the door. The door closed shut behind her and Iris was met with complete darkness. Iris took off her heels so she won't make any noise and she began walking through the darkness, hoping she doesn't knock anything over.

Iris heard men arguing and she walked a little faster toward their voices. She found a large wooden box container and she walked towards it to hide behind. Iris looked up over the box and saw two men standing in front of each other. One of them took off his ski mask and threw it at the other angrily.

"What the hell was that? We came here and got what we needed, why did you start firing your gun?", he asked in an angered tone. 

The other guy laughed and bent down to pick up the ski mask from the ground, "Dude calm down, I was just having a little fun", he said before lifting his ski mask over his head. The guy who was a little shorter than him rolled his eyes and scoffed.

Iris looked between the two, taking in both of their appearances, and continued listening in on their conversation. The shorter guy looked almost ready to punch the other in the face, "Calm down? That little stunt you pulled just made it almost impossible to get out of here, Jeff!" Jeff shrugged his shoulders and seemed unfazed by the situation they were in. 

"You were the one who chose to rob a police gala, thats not my fault, Ky."

Ky threw his hands up in the arm and rubbed his face. Iris slowly got up and find a police officer to let them know the shooters were in the building. She started walking backwards, making sure the two men don't see her trying to leave. She back bumped into something hard and the two men whipped their heads toward Iris. Jeff raised his gun, pointing it at Iris, and her eyes grew wide.

Ky looked just as scared as Iris was, "Jeff, what are you doing, put the gun down", he said in a pleading voice.

He shook his head and he gripped the gun tighter, "She's seen our faces, we cant just let her go." Iris heart was beating out of her as she thought of a plan to try to make it out alive. 

"Okay, but that doesn't mean that we have to kill her. We got what we need, now lets just go", Ky said calmly and reached out to grab Jeff's shoulder. Jeff furrowed his eyebrows but kept the gun pointed at Iris. He turned around to look at his friend and this is when Iris knew she had to escape.

She took off rushing toward the door, but she heard Jeff cock the gun and was ready to open fire. She heard Ky yell out, "No!", and a gunshot went off. Iris kept running and didn't turn around until she reached the door. She turned around and heard footsteps running but she opened the door, closing it behind her. Iris ran towards the front entrance and didn't stop running until she felt like she was safe outside. 

Her chest heaved up and down as she breathed heavily. She noticed that officers were running back inside the building at the sound of the gun shot. She blew out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and heard a familiar voice call her name. "Iris?", she turned around towards the man who pulled her in a bone crushing hug. 

Iris let out a sigh of relief, "Ohh Eddie, its so good to see you," she said as she hugged him back. Eddie let her go and inspected her, making sure she wasn't hurt. Iris rolled her eyes and continued, "Eddie, please I'm fine. Is my dad okay?"

Eddie looked at her for a few minutes and finally nodded his head, letting her go, "Yeah he's fine, he ran back inside after another gunshot was fired," Iris nodded and Eddie continued, "Did you happen to see anything unusual inside?", he asked timidly.

Iris opened her mouth to speak but after a moment, she closed it again. Eddie nodded his head in understanding, "Whenever you're ready, find an officer and give them a statement", he said in a calming tone and threw her a reassuring smile before running off inside the building.

Iris closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before walking to find an officer to give her statement to. As she was walking, she noticed Linda and Wally standing off to the side. Wally was rubbing Linda's back and Linda looked as if she was going to throw up. Iris walked up to them as Linda looked up and she practically leapt into Iris's arms. 

Iris held her tight and she saw Wally let out a sigh of relief. Linda let her go, "Where the hell were you? Barry came running outside, asking if we had seen you and then another gunshot went off..." Linda continued talking but Iris stopped listening after she heard Barry's name. 

Iris interrupted Linda by asking, "Where is Barry?" Iris looked around but couldn't find him. Linda looked at Iris and turned to look at Wally. She noticed the look on Linda's face and Iris thought she was going to throw up herself, "Linda, what aren't you telling me? Where is he?"

Linda looked down for a moment and then back up to meet her eyes, "After Barry realized that you weren't out here, he ran back inside the building to find you. That was the last we saw of him...", she finished, trailing off.

Iris turned around toward the building and made a move to go back in there but Wally pulled her back. Iris struggled to get out of his grasp, "Wally let go, I have to find Barry", she said in a determined voice.

"No, I'm not about to let you go off all half cocked. The shooters are still in the building, Iris, its not safe", he said but Iris looked up at him and after a minute, she nodded her head.

She stood waiting with Linda and Wally waiting to hear some good news. Iris had already given her statement to the police, giving them descriptions and the names of the two thieves. Iris heard a door open and she turned her head towards it. A tall man came out, running a hand through his hair, and walking to talk to a police officer.

Iris started walking towards him and picked up the pace before coming to a stop behind the man. She tapped him lightly on the shoulder and he turned around. Iris stared up at those dreamy green eyes and she instantly got butterflies. Barry looked down at her and a smile slowly grew on his face which Iris couldn't help but return.

"Hi", Iris said with a big smile on her face.

"Hi", he breathed out before pulling Iris close to him in a hug. "I'm so glad that you're okay, I thought I lost you", he said in her hair. 

"You could never lose me", she replied. They stood there holding each other for a little while longer before Barry pulled away.

They both still stood close to each other and Barry brought a hand up to cup the side of her face. Barry caressed her cheek and his smiled dropped a little, "I'm so sorry Iris, I looked everywhere for you. I should have held onto you tighter, I should have-" but Iris cut him off by pressing her lips against his.

Barry wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her even closer to him. Every time Iris kissed Barry, she felt weak in the knees, one feeling that she would never get tired of. Iris pulled away and opened her eyes to look at Barry who's eyes were still shut. "I think I can find it in my heart to forgive you," Iris said in a teasing tone. 

Barry opened his eyes and smiled mischievously, "Hopefully you can give me a little more of that later on," he said while winking at her. Iris laughed and pushed him away. Iris grabbed his hand and led him over to Wally and Linda who were watching them from a far. The four of them stood together, while Iris told them what happened to her. Another door opened and two officers came walking out leading Ky and Jeff, who were in handcuffs, toward a police car. 

Iris watched them until the police car was out of sight and she felt Barry wrap his arm around her waist. She felt him kiss the top of her head and Iris sighed before looking up at Barry. He gave her a quick peck on the lips as Joe made his way towards them. He noticed Barry's arm around Iris's waist and he raised his eyebrows, "Damn, finally."

Iris rolled her eyes while Barry just chuckled. Joe smiled at the now happy couple and he turned to Wally and Iris, "It's going to be a long night at the station with all this paper, so don't wait up", he said before giving Iris a kiss on her forehead and patting Wally on the shoulder. 

Linda offered to give Wally a ride back to the West household but before she left, she went to give Iris a hug. Before Iris could pull away, Linda whispered in her ear, "I want all the details in the morning." Linda let Iris go and sent her a wink. Iris rolled her eyes but couldn't help the blush that was rushing on her face. 

Iris turned to Barry who was standing off to the side and she walked over to him, "After a night like this, I could use a drink or maybe four", she said while laughing a little.

Barry nodded his head, "I have a 6-pack back at my place, or I think I do, hopefully Cisco didn't drink all of it." Iris smiled and Barry grabbed her hand, leading them towards his car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bay opened the door to his apartment door and Iris walked in after him. She looked around the living room and noticed a mantle with photos of Barry. Barry went into the kitchen to get them a couple of beers but Iris walked over to look at the pictures. She picked up one photo and it was a picture of little Barry smiling big as he held up a first place ribbon at a science fair.

Iris smiled and picked up another photo. This picture was of Barry's mom and dad with him in the middle. Iris felt Barry walk up and stand behind her. She placed the photo back on the mantle before turning around to look at Barry who handed her a beer. She took it happily and took a sip before walking towards the couch.

Iris sat down and Barry sat down next to her while taking a sip of his beer. Iris looked at him and said, "This place is great, I should really start looking for an apartment of my own."

Barry smiled, "Thank you, but I can help you find a place, if you want", he said and Iris smiled before nodding.

"Yeah, that would be great." They drank their drinks in a comfortable silence for a while before Barry got up to turn on a movie. Iris rolled her eyes and looked at Barry, "Really? The Notebook?"

Barry shrugged his shoulders, "What? It's a good movie", he said and then pressed play. Barry wrapped his arm around Iris waist and pulled her closer to him as they cuddled each other on his couch. Iris couldn't really concentrate on the movie because Barry's hand moved down to rest on her thigh. Iris tried hiding the blush on her face and she looked up at Barry who was focused on the television.

Barry caught her staring at him and looked down at her, "What?"

She shook her head and said, "Nothing, you're just really handsome." Barry smiled at her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Iris frowned, "You missed."

Barry raised his eyebrows and leaned down to kiss her on the lips. Iris kissed him back and she moved to straddle him. She heard Barry groan and place his hands on her waist. Iris felt Barry lick against her bottom lip and she opened her mouth. Their tongues clashed against each other in a hungry passion and Iris bit Barry's bottom lip.

Barry groaned again before picking Iris up and placing her back on the couch so he could be on top. Iris hands were all over Barry, in his hair, running down his chest, and then she went under his shirt to feel his abs. Barry broke the kiss and stared down at Iris with a mixture of emotion in his eyes. Lust, hunger, and something else Iris couldn't really pick up on  but she didn't care after she lost all train of thought because Barry took his shirt off. 

She brought her hands up to his chest and she could feel Barry's heart beating out of his chest. She let her hands travel down over his abs and they stop right at his belt buckle. Iris looked up at him and locked eyes with him before taking one hand to bring his head back down towards hers. Iris met him half way, kissing him hard, while brining her other hand to wrap around his waist. 

Iris knew that she wanted Barry, all of him, but she couldn't have him yet. She needed to tell Barry about her past before they made a big step like that in their relationship, but right now, Iris wanted to take her time with Barry. Iris felt Barry pressed himself against her and she moaned a little as he moved to kiss her neck.

 _This is_ _going to be hard,_ she thought in her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know how you guys felt about this chapter in the comment section. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! :) xoxo


	8. I Miss You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that I have been gone for so long but I am done with my semester in college and back home with nothing to do. I hope you guys enjoy this new chapter and I will be posting way more now that I am out of school. Thank you guys so much! Xo

Barry groaned as his phone started ringing loudly, echoing throughout his room. He reached over for it blindly as he kept his eyes closed and his head buried in his pillow. Finally his hand landed and his grabbed it, brining it to his ear.

"Hello?",  he said groggily in the phone. He opened one eye to check to see what time it was while he waited for the person on the line to answer. 

"Barry?", Iris replied and Barry shot up a little out of his bed at the sound of her voice. "Please don't tell me that you're still in bed and just now waking up", she continued. Barry furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and look toward his clock again. Barry's eyes grew wide in realization and then went to full panic mode.

Barry hurriedly got up out of bed and said to Iris, "No, no, of course not. I have been up for a while, I was just.. just in the shower. Yeah taking a shower and now I'm about to get dressed." He walked to the closet and grabbed a pair of jeans and a clean shirt out of his drawer.

Iris chuckled slightly and sighed, "When will you be here?", Clearly knowing that Barry was lying. Barry flushed even though she cant see him and answered. "About 15 minutes?", but his answer came out more as a question.

"15 minutes? You were supposed to be here 10 minutes ago", she said in a small voice and this just made Barry feel even more bad but he was a little surprised about what she said next, "I miss you."

Barry's heart fluttered at those three words and grew even more excited to see her. It's about four days since they have seen each other, and Barry missed her terribly. Last time Barry saw Iris was the night after the policemen ball. The night brought a huge smile on Barry's lips and said to Iris, "I miss you too, what can I do to make it up to you for being late?"

A moment a silence went by and Iris finally answered, "Hmm, I don't know, maybe a coffee and brownie from Jitters should do." Barry rolled his eyes and agreed. They exchanged their goodbyes and he hastily put on his clothes. He grabbed his keys off the coffee and yelled bye to Cisco who was stuffing his face with a bowl of cereal.

When Barry arrived at Jitters, the line wasn't as bad as it usually is. While standing in line, his phone buzzed and found a text message from Iris making sure Barry didn't fall back asleep in bed. He smiled and quickly a reply, pocketing his phone, before reaching the counter to place the orders. Barry took a seat at a random table and waited for his order to be called. 

A couple of minutes pass by and they finally says the order is ready. Barry got up and went to their treats but someone bumped into him. Barry turned around and so did the stranger, who shot him a bright smile, which sent a shiver down Barry's spine. The guy switched his coffee to his other hand and reached out the other for Barry to shake.

"Sorry about that man, I should probably watch where I am going next time", he said while Barry reached out to shake his hand. Barry laughed and the man smiled again and continued to say, "What's your name?"

For some reason Barry felt like he should just grab the coffees and go to Iris but he just continued standing there. "I'm Barry Allen, and it's okay, I'm sometimes clumsy myself", he replied. Barry don't know what it was but something changed in the mysterious mans demeanor and there was an unknown glint in his eye, but everything changed in a second and the man smiled again. Barry reached to grab the coffees and Iris's brownie until the man said something that sent another chilling shiver down Barry's spine.

"It was nice to meet you, Mr. Allen, and also tell Iris I said hello", he said. Barry whipped his head towards him but he was already gone.

The entire way to Iris house, Barry couldn't that mans face out of his head. The way he said Iris's name only angered Barry because it didn't sound genuine, it sounded more of a.. threat. Barry opened the front door to the West house and found her sitting in one of the chairs in the dining room. When she turned to see who it was, she ran to Barry and practically jumped into his arms. Barry wrapped his arms tightly around Iris waist and pushed all thoughts of mystery man aside and focused on the beautiful girl in front of him.

After a minute, Iris finally let him go and placed a lingering kiss on his cheek before grabbing her coffee and brownie. She led Barry back to the dining room and asked him "What took so long?"

Barry mentally battled if he should tell Iris about what happened at Jitters but chose against it for now, "You know Jitters, they always have the lines out the door", he replied. Iris smiled and took a sip from her coffee before digging into her brownie. Barry sat there watching her intently, and smiled big when Iris began feeding him pieces of the brownie. After they finished the last bit of the delicious treat, they talked about everything that they missed in each others lives for the last four days.

Laughter filled the dining room and Barry looked at Iris, looking at how beautiful her smile, her laugh, her everything truly is. He reached over, tucking a hair behind her ear and Iris instinctively leaned into his touch. They looked deeply into each others eyes and Barry leaned toward her and brushed his lips against hers. Barry gently pressed his lips to hers and Iris hand moved to hold the hand that was holding her cheek.

At first it was a gentle and soft kiss which turned into passion and lust as Iris moved to straddle Barry's lap. Their mouths opened at the same time, welcoming each others tongues in a sweet and savory moment. One of Barry's hand gripped Iris thigh and the other laid on her lower back, pressing her up against him. He felt her running her hands up and down his chest and Barry loved every second of it. Her hands started to get lower and Barry heard his belt unbuckling but didn't care to stop her because he was too lost in her.

He felt her fingers graze the waistband of his underwear and he let out a groan but before anything else could happen, the front door opened. Iris jumped off of his lap and Barry fumbled with his belt buckle while he looked toward the front door of the house. Wally and Linda walked in laughing and stopped abruptly while looking at Barry and Iris with wide eyes.

Linda recovered quickly and said loudly, "Whooo! It smells like sex in here!" Barry blushed and Iris mouth fell opened while Wally acted as if he was about to throw up. Linda laughed at all three reactions and patted Wally on the shoulder before walking over to Iris. She whispered something in her ear which made Iris gasp and blush even more. Linda looked toward me and winked which only made me more confused.

Iris desperately wanting to get the conversation off her and Barry asked, "So what are you and Wally up to?"

Linda grabbed an apple and took a bite out of it, "We were supposed to go bowling but someone forgot their wallet", she said while looking toward Wally. She turned towards Barry and Iris and continued by asking, "Do you two lovebirds want to come or do you guys want to continue?" Linda had amusement written all over her face while she took another bite of her apple.

Barry looked over at Iris who just shrugged and replied back to Linda, "Yeah sure, we'll go." Linda nodded once and turned to Iris and Barry with a mischievous smile, "We will wait in the car and give you two a minute to recover", she said which caused Wally to groan in disgust as she dragged him by the arm to the car. 

Iris rolled her eyes and turned back to Barry, "Sorry about her, she can be a bit much sometimes", she said while laughing slightly but Barry only opened his arms for her walk into. She cradled her head against his chest and sighed contently.

Barry rubbed his hands up and down her back and said, "We could have always went with her second option", he said being only half serious which earned a light smack on the arm from Iris. Barry pulled her closer to his chest as the events from earlier clouded his thoughts.

Barry didn't know how the guy knew Iris and also didn't know if Iris would know him if I described him to her but what he did know was that this mysterious guy gave him the creeps. If he was to ever meet the guy again and Iris was with him, he knew that he would have to protect her from whoever he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, tell me what you thought in the comment section. Thank you! :)


	9. A Blast From The Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two new chapters in the same day, whaaaaat? :) ENJOY! What can this chapter be about? Hmmm, it might just be the moment that you all have been waiting for.
> 
> Note: What's in italics is Iris telling the backstory in her POV

After all the endless games of bowling, Iris and Wally finally made their way back home. Iris wanted to invite Barry in but chose against it, since it was already late at night. She was somewhat surprised when she found out how competitive Barry could get doing bowling tonight. Iris smiled when her mind wanders toward what happened between her and Barry earlier in the dining room. 

She never knew she could miss someone so terribly until she didn't see Barry for a few days. As she climbed the stairs to her room, she cursed at herself mentally for not asking him to come in because now all she wants to do is be around him. 

Iris walked into her room, flipping the light on, and found a single rose and a note on her bed. She instantly smiled thinking it was from Barry but her smile faltered a bit when she gets farther into the room. She walks slowly toward the note sitting on her bed and picks it up to read it. Her heart begins beating out of chest rapidly and her eyes began to water as she reads over the words repeatedly.

The note falls on the bed and before she can think about anything else, she picks up her phone to call the one person that she needs the most right now. 

"Hey, sorry for calling and I know that you were just here but do you think you could come pick me up?", she asks cautiously into the phone, frantically wiping at the tears running down her face. She let out a breath which she didn't know that she was holding, "Okay, thank you so much."

Iris ran through her room to pack a small bag of clothes. She picked up the note again and read the words again which caused a shiver to run down her spine. Iris picked her bag off the ground, and took a deep breath before running down the stairs to wait for them to come pick her up. Iris stared at the wall with a blank expression as she spoke the two words out loud.

"Found you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Barry unlocked the door to his apartment door and gestured for Iris to go ahead in first. On the car ride here, Barry kept staring at Iris with a confused and worried expression but never pressured her into talking about anything. Iris was honestly grateful but she knew that she had to explain everything to him soon. He grabbed her bag from her shoulder and took to his room.

After a moment, she followed him and stood in the doorway as she watched him pick up dirty clothes off of his floor. She smiled slightly despite the situation she dragged him into. Iris continued to stare until those beautiful green eyes looked up to meet hers. He smiled, a small smile, but it still made Iris stomach flutter with butterflies. She sighed and moved to sit on his bed, patting the spot next to her.

She watched Barry slowly sit next to her, leaving a small space between them, and the only thing Iris wanted more was for him to reach out and comfort her. 

They sat there in a comfortable and slightly awkward silence for a while until Barry turned to Iris and asked, "Are you okay?"

She stared at him for a second, "No", she quietly admit and continued, "but being here with you, makes a lot of things better."

Barry grinned and reached out to put his hand on her knee, giving it a light squeeze. Iris placed her hand over it and took a deep breath. "So where do I begin", she says smiling slightly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_His name was Bryan Miller, he was absolutely radiating and_ _charming and I thought we were a match made in Heaven. I started out as an intern at Keystone Newspaper and accidentally spilled coffee on him on my first there. He was supposedly the best sports journalist in all of Keystone and I had just spilled coffee on him. He laughed it off and reassured me that it was fine even though I felt completely horrible about it._

_Later on that day, he asked me out a date but I rejected his offer because I wasn't there to date, I was there to learn how to be the best damn journalist ever. Even though I did reject him, he continued to ask me out for dinner until one day, I finally caved and said yes._

_We went out and I had a really good time and this led to many more dates. He was perfect, every girls dream boy, and I ended up falling in love with him or what I thought was love. I became a full time reporter and he was so happy for me, kissed me on my forehead and whispered that he was proud of me._

_He convinced me to move in with him and everything was looking up for us until one day he came home drunk. It was my first time seeing him completely wasted and it was not a pretty sight. He began repeatedly breaking furniture, accused me of cheating, called me names, and tried to me feel like I was nothing._

_Months later, the newspaper eventually fired him but that only made things worse. The drinking got even worse and so did the verbal abuse. Every time he said something hurtful, it honestly started to make me feel like I was doing something wrong, and I wanted to try to fix everything to make things better. Later I began to realize that it wasn't me, it was just him trying to break me apart into small little pieces._

_I even caught him cheating on me and he tried to blame it on me, can you believe that? That was final straw for me and I was planning on leaving him but I realized that I didn't have even money to get back to Central City._

_I saved and saved so I could get back to the one place where I know I will feel safest, to be far away from him. The longer I stayed, the worse it became until one night made me pack up everything I owned and get the hell out of there._

_I had came home from the newspaper and he was already drunk and he was already yelling at me, asking me when dinner would be ready. I ignored him and this caused an argument. We began yelling at each other at the top of our lungs and I'm pretty sure the neighbors could hear us. Bryan got really made and slapped me hard across the face. It shocked us both, even though he was always yelling at me, I didn't think he would actually hit me but how wrong was I._

_He stared at me with bloodshot eyes and said, "Now you will think twice about raising your voice at me."_

_"Fuck you", I said before turning to walk towards the bedroom to pack my bags but he gripped my arm and yanked me around to face him. His eyes was wild with anger and I was terrified but I knew I couldn't be here for another day, not even another minute. "Get your hands off of me", I said trying to get out of his hold but his hold only tightened even more._

_"Don't you ever speak to me like that again! Do I need to hit you again to make you understand!", he practically screamed in my face and raised his hand again. I looked at the glass vase sitting on the dining table and reached over to grab it, smashing it hard over Byran's head. He yelled out in pain and I ran as fast as I could toward the bedroom to pack everything I could ft in my bags in a only a little of time._

_I grabbed my bags and ran out the bedroom door and I heard him groaned and said, "You can't run away from me Iris, I will find you and we will be together again! Forever!", he screamed and tried to stand but causing other objects to clatter to the floor._

_I ran for the front door and opened it, running as far away from him and I heard him yell for me one more time, "Iris!"_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

Iris had her eyes closed when she told Barry the last part of her story and she let out a shaky breath but thats when all the tears started falling. Barry tried to catch every single one that fell and took her into his arms. He rubbed his hand up and down her back, in a soothing motion, trying to calm her. 

"He's back now and I know he will do anything to have me come back with him", Iris said throughout her sobs, "I have tried to put on a brave face and push him out of my mind but he will always be there, lingering in the shadows." Barry sat there, cradling her and listening to every word she said. 

They sat there for a moment in silence, holding each other, and Iris wiped away a few extra tears. She looked up at Barry and said, "I'm sorry for bringing you into this, thats the last thing that I ever wanted", but Barry shook his head and said, "I'm glad you told me, and I know that wasn't something easy to talk about or even go through."

Another moment of silence, "Have you told Joe yet?", Barry asked and Iris shook her head immediately. 

"No, he was the first one that I wanted to tell but I knew that he would hunt him down and probably most likely kill him", she said with a hint of humor in her voice and sighed. Barry looks down at her and her eyebrows furrow, "What?", she asked.

"After hearing what he did, you don't think that I don't want to track him down and kill him?", he replies, looking deep in her eyes. They stare at each other for a while until Iris looks away and says, "I know you do but I know that you won't, but my dad on the other hand", she says with a small smile and continues, "I plan on telling my dad soon but I have to gain the strength to do so."

Barry nods his head and says, "You won't have to do it alone, I will be right by your side", he says in a serious tone and a small smile. Iris looks at him and see emotions flowing behind those beautiful eyes. He wraps his arm around her shoulder and bring them back to lie down on the bed. Iris scoots closer to Barry and lays her head on his chest, wrapping her arm around his waist.

Iris eyes are getting heavy and she can tell that Barry is getting sleepy too. She brings herself even closer to Barry and says, "Thank you."

"For what?", Barry asks tiredly as his green eyes opens to meet hers. 

"For being there for me, for caring about me and showing me that there are still good people out there, for being the light at the end of the darkest tunnel, and for always just being you, Bartholomew", she finished with a big smile. Barry grinned at her and leaned down to place a soft kiss on her lips.

"The light at the end of the darkest tunnel", he repeated before drifting off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me how you felt about this chapter in the comment section!  
> I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year :)


	10. I Promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy this new chapter. Iris will tell her dad and Wally about Bryan, her abusive ex. How will they react?

Barry reached across and pulled the body lying next to him to his chest, snuggling closer to them. Barry hummed quietly when he felt her running her fingers through his hair. He slowly opened his eyes to find her beautiful brown eyes watching contently. Iris smiled at him but continued running her fingers through his hair. 

"Good morning", she whispered quietly and Barry grinned at her sleepily. 

"Good morning", he replied in a raspy voice. He didn't know whether or not he should untangle himself from Iris so he decided to keep still. He stared at her and truly admired the beautiful and strong woman she truly is. Last night when Iris told Barry about how abusive Bryan was toward her, made him feel this rage he didn't think he was capable of. He wanted to find this Bryan character and make him pay for the pain he caused Iris but Barry knew for right now, he needed to protect Iris at all costs. 

"Sorry if I woke you up", Iris said before removing her hand from Barry's head. Barry instantly missed the relaxing feeling of her running her fingers through his hair.

He shook his head at her and said, "No it's alright", he looked over her shoulder to look at the alarm clock on his nightstand. "I usually wake up at 8 o clock on Saturdays", he said which cause Iris to smile.

"No, you don't", she replied, calling him out. He returned her smile and said,  "Yeah you're right."

Her smile faded a little as she stared at Barry, "I think I'm going to tell my dad today", she finally says after a couple minutes of complete silence. Barry sits up on the bed a little and look down at her, searching her face. 

"Are you sure? If you aren't ready, we can always wait and do it another time", he said to reassure her but Iris shook her head. 

"It has to be today, it needs to be. I'm tired of being scared, Barry, I'm tired of always looking over my shoulder, being paranoid that he might be watching me. Today is the day that I stop being scared", she said, blowing out a breath and Barry's eyes softened. 

Barry took her face in his hands and ran both thumbs over her cheeks and gave her small smile.  _Her strength is incredible.. She's incredible,_ he thought to himself. "You never cease to amaze me", he said lowly and pressed his forehead to Iris's. 

He watched her eyes close momentarily and open again to stare right into his. Barry brought her face closer to his and placed a soft kiss to her lips. Iris placed her hands over Barry's and leaned forward again to kiss him again but the door flew open which caused them to break apart.

They both turned to the intruder who had a stupid grin plastered on their face. Cisco had a donut in his hand and smirked at Barry and Iris. "Oh, sorry, I didn't know you were here, Iris", Cisco said and winked at Barry as if Iris wasn't in the room.

Barry groaned, "Is there something that you needed, Cisco?", he asked his best friend but Cisco just stood there smirking and took a bite of his donut. Barry shot him a glare and Cisco shook his head slightly.

"Oh I just wanted to tell you that I made breakfast and if you wanted any, its in the kitchen", he said before taking another bite. He shoved his other hand in his pocket and bounced back and forth on the balls of his feet. Barry and Iris stared at him and Cisco cleared his throat, "Well I will let you two lovebirds get back to it", he says before closing the door behind him.

Barry turned to Iris, "I'm so sorry about him, I don't even know why he's up this early", he said which caused Iris to laugh.

"It's alright, let's go eat and then we can head to my dads house?", she said but it came out more as a question and Barry nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Linda, Wally, and Joe all stared at Iris in disbelief at the news that she just delivered and Barry held her hand the entire speech. Joe got up off of the couch and started to pace back and forth. Linda spoke first and said, "Iris this is a big deal. You only said that you dated somebody for a while and it was a rough breakup, not that he was some stalking psychopath", she said and Barry felt Iris flinch at Linda's words. 

Linda noticed and her voice softened, "I'm sorry", she said looking at Iris who gave her a small smile. Linda stood up and said, "Well first thing is first, how the hell are we going to take this asshole down? I prefer piece by piece, nobody hurts my girl."

Wally who stayed quiet for most of everything, shot up off of the couch and said, "I second that but we need to be extra mindful of our surroundings, I mean he broke into the house for fuck sakes", his face set into a deep scowl.

Everyone turned to look at Joe, the only one who hasn't shared his opinion on the matter. He looked deep in thought and ran his hand over his beard. He finally turned to look at Iris, tears brimming at his eyes, and asked, "Did he.. did he hit you?"

Iris looked down at her shoes and Barry gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. She looked back up at her dad and nodded once, tears threatening to spill. Joe let out a choked breath and whispered, "Oh my babygirl", he opened his arms and Iris quickly went to wrap her arms around her father. Iris sobbed into his shirt and Joe rubbed her back in a comforting motion. "Why didn't you tell me?", he asked while wiping away a few escaped tears. 

"I wanted to, I should have, but I was just so scared", she sobbed and Barry's heart broke a little at how much pain his girl has been in. Joe whispered soothing things to Iris and placed a kiss on the top of her head then looked up at Barry. 

"Did you know about this?", Joe asked Barry and Barry nodded. "She only told me last night", he said to clarify, making Joe nod once. 

Joe let Iris go but kept his arms wrapped around her shoulders while she wiped away a few stray tears. Joe turned to the small group and said, "We're going to catch this bastard and make him regret about ever lifting a finger to harm Iris." Both Linda and Wally nod in agreement and Joe continues, "Me and Barry will try to look up some information on Bryan Miller. Wally and Linda, I want you two to take Iris somewhere safe, somewhere he won't think to look."

Iris instantly shook her head, not liking the idea and Barry watches Iris, "No, I'm not leaving", Joe opened his mouth to protest but Iris cut him off, "I'm not running anymore, I'm tired of running away from my problems and being too scared to face them. That stops now, I have too much to lose now more than ever now", Iris said while looking at Barry, "I ran back home so I can feel safe again and he took that away from me, now its our turn to take it back."

Barry looked at her with adoration and gave her a big grin which she returned with a grin of her own. Wally clapped his hands and Linda rolled her eyes at me, giving him a little shove. Iris laughed at the two and turned her dad who gave her a small nod and a smile. 

Wally stopped clapping and said to Iris, "What do you think we should do first, sis?"

Iris bit her lip a little, collecting her thoughts, "I think we do what my dad said, see if we can find any information on Bryan in the police database, if he has a history of violence or something that can lead us to him", she says while looking around the group. 

Everyone nodded in agreement and they spent a few more moments in discussion coming up with a set plan. Linda and Wally went out to get them all something to eat and Joe went up to his room to freshen up. Barry went to stand in front of Iris and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close to him. They stood there for a while holding each other, until Iris pulled away from him to look up at him.

"Thank you for today, for being there for me and reassuring me that everything was going to be alright in the end", she said hugging her body closer to his.

Barry tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and caressed her cheek, "I will always be here for you, no matter what, Iris", he said softly. Iris smiled and pressed a kiss to his jaw. 

"Promise?", she asks teasing a little and Barry smiles. "I promise", he replies before placing a sweet kiss on her lips. Iris titled her head slightly to the side, opening her mouth a little, allowing Barry his tongue in. Their mouths moved against each other slowly but savoring each and every kiss. They break apart and rest their foreheads against each other, grinning like idiots who are hopelessly falling even more deeply for each other.


	11. Breathe Iris Breathe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am with another update :) I hope you enjoyyy!

It has been a week and a half, close to two weeks, since Iris has told her closest loved ones about what happened to her. It has been nearly two weeks since they have been working on a way to track down Bryan, who real name turns out to be Jason Turner. Almost two weeks since he left that note for her. 

In all this time, Iris has never been on such high alert. Every where she goes, she is more aware of her surroundings and is always looking over her shoulder, feeling as if someone is watching her. Iris knows that everyone has noticed her behavior, she knows that they have seen how on edge she has been recently. Barry has tried to comfort her but every time she tells him that she is fine, the more worried he becomes. 

Iris is typing away on her computer when she hears the bedroom door open, revealing a very sleepy Barry. He shuffles into the room and rubs his eyes before walking into the kitchen. He opens the fridge door to grab a bottle of water before turning around to find Iris sitting on the couch, paying him no mind. 

"Have you been to sleep?", he asks in a raspy voice.

Iris looks up from the computer briefly and replies, "No, I haven't, what time is it?" Barry looks over at the clock on the wall and sighs, "It's almost 7."

Iris looks up at him in confusion and asks, "Why would I be going to be at 7?"

Barry raises his eyebrows and chuckles a little before saying, "No, I mean 7 in the morning, baby", which causes Iris's eyes to grow wide. She gets up and walks over to the curtain, yanking them open and instantly regrets it. She shields her eyes from the bright light and goes to sit back down on the couch but Barry is already sitting there looking at her computer. 

Iris sits down next to him and he turns to look over at her. He points at the screen and says, "Is this what you have been working on all night?" Iris nods her head briefly and runs her hand through her hair. Barry looks at her for a minute longer and grabs the laptop, "Do you mind if I help you?"

Iris smiles at him and puts her hand on his cheek, "I will make us some coffee", she says before placing a chaste kiss to his lips and gets up to walk to the kitchen. Barry stares after her for a while but couldn't help but worry about her even more.

Iris could hear Barry typing away on her laptop as she started to fix them coffee. She peeked over her shoulder to look at the beautiful man sitting on the couch and smiled a little. Iris was so lucky to have someone as wonderful in her life but she couldn't help to feel guilty. Sometimes she thought he would be better off without her in his life, better not having to deal with her problems. If Barry got hurt during any of this, she would never forgive herself. 

She sighs quietly to herself before turning around and focusing back on the coffee. Iris was deep in thought until she heard a loud knock at the door, causing her to jump. She turned to look at Barry, who just stared back at her just as confused. "Does your mail usually come at 7 in the morning?", she asks curiously.

Barry got up off of the couch quickly to answer the door and says, "No, this is a first." He walks toward the door and the person bangs on the door louder. Barry stops walking and turns to look back at Iris, "Stay there." Iris nods briefly and Barry continues walking to the door cautiously.

He looks through the peep hole before opening the door to find nobody standing there. Iris slowly walks towards Barry and he steps out into the hallway to find whoever was knocking on his door. Iris accidentally kicks something on the floor. She bends down to pick it up, and its an envelope with a bow taped on it. She looks up at Barry who is just watching carefully.

Iris walks back into the kitchen and places the card on the countertop before picking it back up again to examine. She goes to open it but Barry grabs her hand, stopping her. "Open it carefully", he says in a firm tone and Iris nods repeatedly. She takes a big breath before opening the envelope. 

She grabs the note thats inside which reads, " _You know you cant hide from me, Iris, and it seems you've found a new boy toy. We're going to have to take care of that. See you soon"_ Iris looks up at Barry and places the note back in the envelope before placing it back on the counter. Barry looks Iris before reaching over to grab the note to read it for himself.

He looks back up at her and down at the note again before tossing it back on the counter. "Stop," Barry says suddenly which causes to look at him dumbfounded. "Stop what?", she questions.

"Stop thinking that this is your fault because its not", he says but Iris shakes her head.

"It is my fault, if I hadn't had met him or brought you into this mess, he wouldn't be coming after you", she said while avoiding Barry's gaze, "All of this is my fault. I was stupid enough to think that I could possibly be happy but this is proof that he will not stop until I'm standing next to him and he's not going to let anyone get in his way", she finishes and takes a breath.

She feels Barry grab her face so she can look at him but she still avoids his gaze. He tries to meet her eye line but fails, "Iris, please look at me", he pleads which makes Iris finally look at him. 

Iris looked into his green eyes and faltered a little bit. She didn't want to cry in front of him but the way he held her made it very hard. Barry reached his hand out and Iris closed her eyes as she felt Barry brush her hair behind her ear. "Iris, you should know by now that nothing and no one is going to turn me away from you." Iris couldn't help the tears from falling down and Barry tried to catch every single. "He's going to have to get through me to get to you, and I might be a little scrawny but I can put up a good fight", he finished with a grin. 

Iris laughs a little despite the tears and sighs heavily, "I feel like he's winning this little game that he's playing. He seems to always be a step ahead and its frustrating", Barry's thumbs continued to caress Iris's face and then brings her closer so she can lie her head on his chest. "I want to be able to breathe again, Bar."

They stood there for a minute before Barry gently took Iris chin between his fingers and said, "Breathe Iris, just take a breath." Iris inhaled deeply and sigh heavily and Barry whispered, "Breathe", before bringing his face closer to Iris's, giving her long, loving, kiss before pulling away to press his forehead against hers.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if it is kind of short but I am going to update tomorrow, and Sunday :) I hope you guys enjoy this WestAllen fluff!


	12. Dead Man Walking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up and get ready for this chapter. Hope you guys enjoy!

Before leaving the West household, Barry gave Iris a quick kiss before making his way to Jitters to get them a couple cups of coffee. Barry couldn't feel anything but happiness despite the circumstances. Iris has brought so much light into Barry's life and he couldn't be more  grateful. Over the course of these weeks, they have enough evidence to put Jason behind bars for a long time. Barry smile faltered a little bit when he thinks about how scared and alone Iris must of been during that time. When they catch this guy, the only thing Barry wants to do is make him feel the pain that he caused Iris, maybe even worse.

Barry picked up his pace a little bit as the chilly wind started to blow harshly. He hears footsteps behind him and stops walking abruptly. He turns around to see if someone is walking behind but doesn't see anyone in sight besides cars driving down the street. After a minute, he turned back around and kept walking.

He hears crunching of leaves and he whips his head quickly but theres nobody there until he feels strong arms picking him up slamming hard against the concrete. His head slams against the ground, hard, causing Barry vision blacken momentarily. He brings his arms up to guard his face as a fist comes flying trying to connect with his face. Barry tries to push the guy off of him but he's too strong. The mystery man keeps throwing punches, some connecting to Barry's face, others are going to leave bruises in the morning.

Barry blocks one punch and throws a punch to this guys face, hearing a crunch coming along with it. The guy screams in agony and hurriedly gets up runs away leaving Barry lying down on the ground. Barry tries to get into a sitting position but fails miserably, and decides to just turn his head to the side to spit out the blood in his mouth. His head was throbbing and reached to touch behind his head to have his hand come back plastered with blood.

He tries to reach in his pockets to grab his phone but his vision was blurry and he couldn't see straight. He tried again to get up off of the ground but ended up back on the ground. Barry wasn't sure how long he stayed on the ground but he heard a car door close and a person running up to him. 

"Sir, sir, can you hear me? Are you alright?", the stranger asked. 

"Yeah, my head, my head hurts", he said weakly and the stranger gasped. "Oh my gosh, there is so much blood. Garrett , call 911, we need to get him into an ambulance."

Barry eyes closed and the woman shook him gently telling him to stay awake but Barry kept his eyes closed until he slipped into unconsciousness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Iris was pacing through the kitchen as she called Barry's phone for the fourth time. Iris was starting to panic a little bit and she could feel deep down that something terrible has happened. She tried to call his phone again but it goes straight to voicemail.  _Please be okay, please, please,_ Iris thought in her head.

She placed her phone down on the kitchen counter and took a deep breath as she tried to not think of the worst. She heard footsteps coming down the stairs and turned to see Wally standing in the doorway. 

"Are you okay?", he asked concern etched onto his face. Iris nods her head once.

"Yeah, Barry went out to get us some coffees about an hour and a half ago and he isn't picking up his phone", she said and turned back around to check her phone again, silently wishing he would call her back.

Wally shrugged a little, "Maybe his phone died or something, I'm sure he's on his way back now." Iris nods repeatedly trying to believe Wally's words but something in her heart is telling her something isn't right. "Well, I'm about to head out and meet Linda at the movies. I will see you later", he says before giving Iris a quick hug then turns to head to the front door. 

After hearing the door closes, Iris takes a deep breath before letting it out. She goes to pick up her phone again until she hears running footsteps coming down the stairs. Her head turns toward the bottom of the stair case to see her dad with a panic expression on his face. "Dad, what is it?", she asks slowly, fearing to hear the answer.

"It's Barry... Iris, he was rushed to the hospital. They sa- they said someone found him on the side of the street near Jitters." Joe said while searching around the living room for his keys frantically. Iris felt like the wind had been knocked out of her, her chest tightened and a lump formed in her throat. "If I could find my damn keys, we could be on our way to the hospital now."

"I think Wally took your car to go meet Linda at the movies", she said in a shaky voice but went over to grab her car keys and phone, "We can take my car, lets go."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Barry felt someone running their fingers through his hair and he tried to open his eyes but couldn't. He heard her talking softly and could tell she was crying. All Barry wanted to do was hold her and wipe away her tears. "Don't cry, Iris, I'm okay.."

Iris moved her hand to Barry's cheek to caress it. She rubbed her thumb over his cheekbones softly, aware of the bruises already forming. Barry moved his fingers a little and winced slightly as he moved his hand to cover Iris's. She gasped a little and Barry opened his eyes only to shut them again because of the bright lights in the room. His head began to pound and he winced again. 

Iris wiped at her eyes with her other hand and moved to get up off the bed, but Barry tightened his grip a little on her hand. "Where are you going?", he asks, his voice sounding hoarsely and cracking a bit. 

"To get the nurse, to let her know that you're awake", she said, her voice sounding as if she is on the brink of tears. Barry pulled at her arm gently telling her to sit back down on the bed. "In a minute, please", he pleaded weakly to her and Iris nods. 

Barry watches Iris as she studies his injuries. Her hands moved from his cheek to under his eye where a purple bruise has already taken place. Iris couldn't help but let a tear escape and roll down her cheek as she watched the man she loved lie in a hospital bed. Barry reached up to catch the tear, "Hey, its alright, I'm okay", he said.

Iris shook her head frantically, "I should have came with you, or I should have went myself and had you stay at the house. Barry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry", she sobbed and Barry pulled her down so she could lie next to him on the bed. He rubbed her back soothingly, and whispered to her that everything was going to be okay. 

They laid there, relieved and worrying about each other. Barry looked down at Iris and said, "You know, he might have given me a concussion but he ran away with a broken nose." Iris laughed slightly at Barry trying to lighten the mood. Barry grinned down at her and she reached up to plant a small kiss on his lips.

"Good job, Bar, but seriously, I'm really happy that you're okay", she said while staring into those beautiful green eyes that she has come so fond of. Iris reached up to push his hair away from his forehead and brought her lips back to Barry's. Their lips moved slowly against each other, pouring every motion into one gesture. Iris moved her hand to wrap around Barry's waist as she goes to deepen the kiss but the door swings open.

Joe walks into the hospital room with a vase full of flowers. He notices Iris lying on the bed next to Barry and says, "Good to see that you're feeling better, Barry." Joe grinned as the pair blushed at his words.

Iris sits up on the bed and clears her throat, "Who are the flowers from?", she asks trying her best to change the subject. Her father notices but continues to go with it, "Actually I'm not sure, they were just sitting at the door when I walked up."

Iris eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she got up from the bed to move over to the flowers on the table. She grabbed the card that was poking through the flowers and opened it. 

"What does the card say?", Barry asks as Joe hands him a cup of water. Iris turns around slowly towards them and reads the card out loud.

" _Next time your boyfriend won't end up in a hospital bed, it will be in the ground. -J"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry, but I'm glad Barry is okay, what will be their next move to try to stop Jason? Let me know down in the comments!


End file.
